The Jazz Messengers

The Big Beat is the first Blue Note studio album by the edition of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers that included Wayne Shorter. The young tenor saxophonist was the band's newest member. His three compositions here already pull its hard bop toward something more angular and modern. The best-known track, meanwhile, looks back to the gospel feeling of the earlier hit Moanin'.

It was recorded on March 6, 1960, at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. With Art Blakey at the drums and Shorter on tenor, the quintet had Lee Morgan on trumpet, Bobby Timmons on piano and Jymie Merritt on bass. Alfred Lion produced. This line-up went on to record A Night in Tunisia, Like Someone in Love, The Freedom Rider and Roots & Herbs for the label.

Shorter's pieces open the record and give it its character. The Chess Players struts along on a swaggering theme for over nine minutes. Sakeena's Vision is named after Blakey's young daughter and moves through less predictable harmonic ground. Lester Left Town is a tribute to Lester Young, the tenor forefather who had died the year before. Against them stands Timmons' Dat Dere, a churchy, singable tune in the mould of his earlier success for the band. The programme is completed by Politely, written by trumpeter Bill Hardman, and a brisk It's Only a Paper Moon.

Dat Dere became the tune most associated with the album. Nat Hentoff wrote the original liner notes. The cover is a Reid Miles design around a Francis Wolff photograph, in the classic Blue Note manner. The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (1985) gave the album four stars, and The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (2008) three out of four.

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl edition (2021) is all-analogue, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.