Night Dreamer

Last updated

Night Dreamer
Night Dreamer.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1964;
1987
RecordedApril 29, 1964
Studio Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Genre Modal jazz, post-bop
Length40:58original LP
Label Blue Note
BLP 4173
CDP 7 84173 2
Producer Alfred Lion
Wayne Shorter chronology
Wayning Moments
(1962)
Night Dreamer
(1964)
JuJu
(1965)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Tom Hull A− [3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]

Night Dreamer is the fourth album by American jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter. It was released in November 1964 by Blue Note Records. [6] With a quintet of trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Elvin Jones performing six Shorter originals. [7]

Contents

In 2005, it was reissued as part of the RVG Edition series with liner notes by Nat Hentoff. [8]

Concept and compositions

At this point of his career, Shorter felt his writing was changing. While the previous compositions had a "lot of detail", this new approach had a simplistic quality to it. "I used to use a lot of chord changes, for instance, but now I can separate the wheat from the chaff." [9]

In an interview with Nat Hentoff, Shorter focused on the album's meaning: "What I'm trying to express here is a sense of judgment approaching - judgment for everything alive from the smallest ant to man. I know that the accepted meaning of "Armageddon" is the last battle between good and evil - whatever it is. But my definition of the judgment to come is a period of total enlightenment in which we will discover what we are and why we're here."

The title song, "Night Dreamer", has mostly a minor-key tonality, which Shorter said "always connotes evening or night to me". [10] It is a 3
4
"floating" piece, yet, "although the beat does float, it also is set in a heavy groove. It's a paradox, in a way, like you'd have in a dream". This explains the "Dreamer" part. Shorter first heard "Oriental Folk Song" as the theme for a commercial, then he discovered it was an old Chinese song. He meant "Virgo" (Shorter's star sign) to be "optimistic", whilst in "Black Nile" he tried to get a flowing feeling, like a "depiction of a river route." "Charcoal Blues" should represent a sort of backtracking piece, linking the past and the present time together: "The old blues and funk were good for their times and place, but what I'm trying to do now is to get the meat out of the old blues while also presaging the different kind of blues to come. [...] I'm both looking back at the good things in those older blues and also laughing at that part of my background". Shorter underlines that the laughter is not mocking but satirical, "from the inside". Ultimately, "Armageddon" was considered by Shorter as the focal point of the album. [11]

Track listing

Original release (1964)

All compositions by Wayne Shorter.
A1. "Night Dreamer"
A2. "Oriental Folk Song"
A3. "Virgo"
B1. "Black Nile"
B2. "Charcoal Blues"
B3. "Armageddon"

CD release (1987)

  1. "Night Dreamer" – 7:15
  2. "Oriental Folk Song" – 6:50
  3. "Virgo" – 7:05
  4. "Virgo" [alternate take] – 7:00
  5. "Black Nile" – 6:25
  6. "Charcoal Blues" – 6:50
  7. "Armageddon" – 6:20

Remastered CD release (2005)

  1. "Night Dreamer" – 7:15
  2. "Oriental Folk Song" – 6:51
  3. "Virgo" – 7:07
  4. "Black Nile" – 6:28
  5. "Charcoal Blues" – 6:54
  6. "Armageddon" – 6:23
  7. "Virgo" [alternate take] – 7:03

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Garrison</span> American jazz double bassist (1934–1976)

James Emory Garrison was an American jazz double bassist. He is best remembered for his association with John Coltrane from 1961 to 1967.

<i>My Favorite Things</i> (John Coltrane album) 1961 studio album by John Coltrane

My Favorite Things is a studio album by the jazz musician John Coltrane. It was released in March 1961 on Atlantic Records. It was the first album to feature Coltrane playing soprano saxophone. An edited version of the title track became a hit single that gained popularity in 1961 on radio. The record became a major commercial success.

<i>Impressions</i> (John Coltrane album) 1963 studio album / live album by John Coltrane

Impressions is an album of live and studio recordings by the jazz musician and composer John Coltrane. It was released through Impulse! Records in July 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reggie Workman</span> American jazz double bassist

Reginald "Reggie" Workman is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey.

<i>Unity</i> (Larry Young album) 1966 studio album by Larry Young

Unity is an album by jazz organist Larry Young, released on the Blue Note label in August, 1966. The album features trumpeter Woody Shaw, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson and drummer Elvin Jones. While not free jazz, the album features experimentation that was innovative for the time. Young chose the title because, "although everybody on the date was very much an individualist, they were all in the same frame of mood. It was evident from the start that everything was fitting together." The album was Young's second for Blue Note, and is widely considered a "post-bop" classic.

<i>JuJu</i> (album) 1965 studio album by Wayne Shorter

JuJu is the fifth album by American jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter. It was released in July 1965 by Blue Note Records. It features a rhythm section of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Elvin Jones, all of whom had worked extensively with Shorter's fellow tenor saxophonist John Coltrane.

<i>Crescent</i> (John Coltrane album) 1964 studio album by John Coltrane

Crescent is a studio album by the jazz musician and composer John Coltrane. It was released in July 1964 through the label Impulse!. Alongside Coltrane on tenor saxophone, the album features McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones (drums) playing original Coltrane compositions.

<i>Olé Coltrane</i> 1961 studio album by John Coltrane

Olé Coltrane is a studio album by the jazz musician and composer John Coltrane. It was released in November 1961 through Atlantic Records. The album was recorded at A&R Studios in New York, and was the last of Coltrane's Atlantic albums to be made under his own supervision.

<i>The Real McCoy</i> (McCoy Tyner album) 1967 studio album by McCoy Tyner

The Real McCoy is the seventh album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner and his first released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on April 21, 1967, following Tyner's departure from the John Coltrane Quartet. It features performances by Tyner with tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Elvin Jones. Producer Alfred Lion recalls the recording session as a "pure jazz session. There is absolutely no concession to commercialism, and there's a deep, passionate love for the music embedded in each of the selections".

<i>Free for All</i> (album) 1965 studio album by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers

Free for All is a jazz album by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers released on Blue Note. Recorded in February 1964, it was released the following year. It was originally titled Free Fall.

<i>The Clown</i> (album) 1957 studio album by Charles Mingus

The Clown is a studio album by the jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus. It was released in September 1957 through Atlantic Records. The recording took place on February 13 and March 12, 1957. The title track features the improvised narration of Jean Shepherd.

<i>Coltrane "Live" at the Village Vanguard</i> 1962 live album by John Coltrane

Coltrane "Live" at the Village Vanguard is a live album by the jazz musician and composer John Coltrane. It was released in February 1962 through Impulse Records. It is the first album to feature the members of the classic quartet of Coltrane with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones, as well as the first Coltrane live album to be issued. In contrast to his previous album for Impulse!, this one generated much turmoil among both critics and audience alike with its challenging music.

<i>Inner Urge</i> (Joe Henderson album) 1966 studio album by Joe Henderson

Inner Urge is an album by the jazz saxophonist Joe Henderson, released in 1966 via Blue Note Records, his fourth recorded as a leader. It was recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on November 30, 1964. Featuring Henderson along with pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones, and bassist Bob Cranshaw.

<i>Search for the New Land</i> 1966 studio album by Lee Morgan

Search for the New Land is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan. A set with a group of regular Blue Note sidemen, Search for the New Land was recorded before The Sidewinder was released. Although it was recorded in 1964, the album was shelved for two years, then issued with the original catalogue number 84169.

<i>Blue Spirits</i> 1967 studio album by Freddie Hubbard

Blue Spirits is an album by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard released on the Blue Note label. It would be his last studio album for Blue Note, recorded in the 1960s. It features performances by Hubbard, James Spaulding, Joe Henderson, Harold Mabern, Jr., Larry Ridley, Clifford Jarvis, Big Black, Kiane Zawadi, Hank Mobley, McCoy Tyner, Bob Cranshaw, Pete LaRoca. The CD release added tracks from a 1966 session featuring Hosea Taylor, Herbie Hancock, Reggie Workman, and Elvin Jones.

<i>Inception</i> (McCoy Tyner album) 1962 studio album by McCoy Tyner

Inception is the debut album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner which was released on the Impulse! label in 1962. It features performances by Tyner with bassist Art Davis and drummer Elvin Jones.

<i>Extensions</i> (McCoy Tyner album) 1973 studio album by McCoy Tyner

Extensions is the eleventh album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on February 9, 1970, but not released until January 1973. It has performances by Tyner with alto saxophonist Gary Bartz, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Elvin Jones, and features Alice Coltrane playing harp on three of the four tracks.

"Equinox" is a minor blues jazz standard by American jazz saxophone player and composer John Coltrane. It was originally released on Coltrane's Sound played in C# minor with a slow swing feel. However, it is usually played in the key of C Minor.

<i>The Best of John Coltrane</i> 1970 greatest hits album by John Coltrane

The Best of John Coltrane is a 1970 compilation album released by Atlantic Records collecting recordings made by jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. The album was released shortly after his death as a part of the "Atlantic Jazz Anthology"—a series of greatest hits compilations for Atlantic jazz artists—and features performances from his brief period recording for Atlantic with new liner notes by jazz journalist Nat Hentoff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jazz Messengers</span> American jazz band

The Jazz Messengers were a jazz combo that existed for over thirty-five years beginning in the early 1950s as a collective, and ending when long-time leader and founding drummer Art Blakey died in 1990. Blakey led or co-led the group from the outset. "Art Blakey" and "Jazz Messengers" became synonymous over the years, though Blakey did lead non-Messenger recording sessions and played as a sideman for other groups throughout his career.

"Yes sir, I'm gonna to stay with the youngsters. When these get too old, I'm gonna get some younger ones. Keeps the mind active."

References

  1. Wayne Shorter - Night Dreamer (1964) album review by John Kelman at All About Jazz . March 22, 2005
  2. Wayne Shorter - Night Dreamer (1964) album review by Scott Yanow, credits & releases at AllMusic
  3. "Tom Hull: Grade List: Wayne Shorter". Tom Hull . Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  4. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1295. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
  5. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide . USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp.  180. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
  6. "(none)". Schwann Monthly Guide to Stereo Records . Vol. 19, no. 10–12. p. 277.
  7. AMG.com review
  8. Night Dreamer Product Notes
  9. Original liner notes by Nat Hentoff
  10. Original liner notes by Nat Hentoff
  11. Original liner notes by Nat Hentoff