Wow! Absolutely one of the sweetest sounding jazz albums I’ve ever heard. “Wayning Moments” was released in 1962 and features Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, pianist Eddie Higgins, bassist Jymie Merritt and drummer Marshall Thompson. The 15 songs ( 8 unique and 7 in different takes) are played with a constant smoothness, no real high pitch out-of the-ordinary swings at all. Truly sweet, enjoy!
About the album:
WAYNING MOMENTS is Wayne Shorter’s third and final release for Vee Jay, the label where he started his solo career. At this time, it was by far his most expansive release, covering a broad range of musical ground. It also expands further on Shorter’s gifts as a composer as he inches closer to the fully mature style for which he would become legendary. It is at this time, however, that we find Shorter, still a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, coming into his own as a prime mover of the tenor saxophone in the hard bop era. Shorter is joined by fellow Messengers Freddie Hubbard and Jymie Merritt, both in excellent…..Read More
About Vee Jay Records:
Vee-Jay Records. In cold, hard facts, Vee-Jay was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken (later that year, Mr. & Mrs. Bracken), who used their first initials for the label’s name. The first song they ever recorded made it to the top ten of the national rhythm & blues charts. In a short time, Vee-Jay was the most successful black- owned record company in the United States. By 1963, they were charting records faster than some of the major labels. They were the first U.S. company to have the Beatles. In one month alone in early 1964, they sold 2.6 million Beatles singles. Two years later, the company was bankrupt.
So much for cold, hard facts. The trouble with these facts is that they really don’t tell the story. It’s not a story of a small business that becomes a giant corporation; rather, it’s the collective stories of the people involved. I talked to several of the key Vee-Jay people during January and February, 1981. What follows is their story…….Read More
