The Jazz Messengers

One of the greatest line-ups of drummer Art Blakey’s hard bop finishing school The Jazz Messengers locked into place in 1960 when tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter joined trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt for the recording of The Big Beat, an album that signaled the transformation of the band into a modern jazz juggernaut. In August of that year The Jazz Messengers returned to Van Gelder Studio twice for sessions that would yield the companion albums A Night In Tunisia and Like Someone In Love. The latter would have to wait until 1967 for release, but its arrival added another timeless treasure to the Blakey catalog. Opening with a sublimely swinging version of the title track, Side 1 moves assuredly into the percolating Morgan original “Johnny’s Blue.” Side 2 presents a trio of Shorter originals including the hard-charging numbers “Noise in the Attic” and “Giantis,” as well as the stunning ballad “Sleeping Dancer Sleep On.”

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.