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Review 1
Wayne Shorter had been a member of the Miles Davis quintet for several months when he recorded Speak No Evil, his third Blue Note release. Once again, the saxophonist's melodic genius and mature compositional voice are strongly in evidence. Immortal tunes like "Witch Hunt" and "Speak No Evil," with their long phrases and harmonically sparse forms, are ideally suited to the new intervallic and modal vocabulary that Shorter and his colleagues were exploring around this time. Alongside the driving, swinging intensity of these tracks, there are also moments of exquisite calm, particularly during the ballad "Infant Eyes" but also on a pair of contrasting waltzes, "Wildflower" and "Dance Cadaverous." (The RVG Edition includes an alternate take of the latter.) Another post-bop classic, "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum," balances dense harmonic movement with the cocky spirit of soul-jazz (another Blue Note specialty).
Shorter's two previous records, Night Dreamer and JuJu, shared nearly the same personnel. But on Speak No Evil, only Elvin Jones retains his spot in the lineup; the presence of Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter reflects Shorter's new life as a Miles sideman. Freddie Hubbard, Shorter's erstwhile colleague in the Jazz Messengers, lends his brilliance to the session as well. In later years, with Tony Williams in place of Jones, this would be the supergroup known as "V.S.O.P."  |
Players
Ron Carter - Bass, Herbie Hancock - Piano, Wayne Shorter - Sax (Tenor), Freddie Hubbard - Trumpet |
Tracks
1. Witch Hunt - 8:07
2. Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum - 5:50
3. Dance Cadaverous - 6:41
4. Speak No Evil - 8:21
5. Infant Eyes - 6:50
6. Wild Flower - 6:02 |
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