It was always a shock to the system when I'd discover an artist and be into a certain style of music that was more commercially accepted, only to be turned upside down by a different more challenging sound.
I think the first Shorter album I checked out was Speak No Evil, then Adam's Apple. When I finally worked my way over to this complex masterpiece The All Seeing Eye, I was shocked.
I didn't easily take to the avant-garde styled jazz, actually, ironically I did early on like free jazz of the Coltrane's Ascension variety, pure aggression some of that music is, and it just seemed to be easily understood to me.
Albums like Dolphy's Out to Lunch, Andrew Hill's Point of Departure are composed pieces in a purer sense, at least they sound that way to me. I had a harder time understanding the chamber jazz style. 1965's The All Seeing Eye is Definitely chamber jazz.
It would be asinine on my part to try to explain this music track by track, other than perhaps the moods and tempos. This is music that takes many listens to digest.
For what it's worth, this is the album I feel Wayne sounds the most like Coltrane, he digs into his solos with more earnestness, an less mystery perhaps?
This music is not that far removed from what Wayne was doing with Miles Davis at around this time. pianist Herbie Hancock and bassist Ron Carter offer support along with Joe Chambers on drums. The Music is definitely more experimental, and less melodic than the Davis quintet material.
What makes this album so special are the horns, Shorter, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, James Spauding on alto, and Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, they all get to stretch out here.
Then there's Allan Shorter, Wayne's older brother playing flugelhorn on his own composition "Mephistopheles". A bizarre monotonous droning track that settles into a drum beat that will pound your head to Excedrin headache number 9.
Ultimately this album is fantastic if you like cerebral avant-garde style jazz. I know some will think music like this is pretentious, but really, how can you fault an artist for creating music he wants to as an artistic statement and not necessarily as a pay day?
Shorter, in the liner notes for the album exclaimed that he had God in mind when creating this music. "Titles like "Genesis" "All Seeing Eye", and "Chaos" bring this to the forefront. Then his brother's "Mephistopheles", which brings in the devil and the struggles with that force, so you can see, this is thinking people's music, it's chamber jazz.
Do you dare to battle The All Seeing Eye?
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