JuJu

Philosopher, poet, and shaman of jazz, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter followed up on his 1964 debut for Blue Note, Night Dreamer, with another timeless album, JuJu, recorded a mere three months later on August 3 at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio. After five years as saxophonist and composer/musical director with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers—a considerably long tenure with the band that usually experienced a rapid-fire turnover of personnel—Wayne was making another major statement in support of his solo career as a leader, striving to stretch further after operating within the confines of Blakey’s ensemble format.

Even though Wayne was driven by the freedom that a solo career offered him, he had already decided to finally give in to Miles Davis’ insistent invitation to join his band. In a sense that was the perfect guarantor of greater exposure that would better prepare him for his eventual, long-in-coming solo life. He linked up with Miles and the rest of the quintet a month after recording JuJu.

With JuJu, showcasing six of his new pieces, Wayne projected himself as a seeker pursuing more depth, more compositional freedom to follow what he was intuitively imagining. In the original liner notes, writer Nat Hentoff characterized Wayne as possessing a “controlled passion” that was fueled by “ceaseless curiosity.” Reissue liner notes writer Bob Blumenthal in 1999 described Wayne’s unique style as coming from a mind that was “highly analytical yet suffused with the fantastic.” All of which pointed to the personality of a restless artist ready to break out, which he dynamically achieved with JuJu.