Roots & Herbs

Roots & Herbs
Studio album by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers
Released	October 1970 [1]
Recorded	February 12, 1961 (#8–9) February 18, 1961 (#1, 2, 4–6) May 27, 1961 (#3, 7)
Studio	Van Gelder Studio Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Genre	Jazz
Length	42:11 (LP) 61:52 (CD)
Label	Blue Note BST 84347
Producer	Alfred Lion
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers chronology
The Witch Doctor (1969) Roots & Herbs (1970) Child's Dance (1972)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
DownBeat	[3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[5]

Roots & Herbs is a jazz album by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, recorded in 1961 at the same sessions which produced The Freedom Rider , but not released on the Blue Note label until 1970. The CD reissue features three alternate takes, two of which originally released in 1979 on Pisces .

Track listing

All compositions by Wayne Shorter.

1. "Ping Pong" – 7:06
2. "Roots and Herbs" – 6:05
3. "The Back Sliders" – 7:51
4. "United" – 7:29
5. "Look at the Birdie" – 6:45
6. "Master Mind" – 6:55

Bonus tracks on CD reissue:

7. "The Back Sliders" (Alternate Take) – 6:57
8. "Ping Pong" (Alternate Version) – 5:58
9. "United" (Alternate Version) – 6:48

Personnel

The Jazz Messengers

• Lee Morgan – trumpet
• Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone
• Bobby Timmons (#1, 3, 5–9), Walter Davis, Jr. (#2, 4) – piano
• Jymie Merritt – bass
• Art Blakey – drums

References

1. Billboard Oct 24, 1970
2. Roots & Herbs at AllMusic
3. Down Beat: February 18, 1971 vol. 38, no. 4.
4. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 25. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
5. Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 133. ISBN   978-0-14-103401-0.