condition (disc/cover): NM / EX+

The 1961 sextet masterpiece: Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Curtis Fuller, Cedar Walton, Jymie Merritt - and Art Blakey detonating Walton's title track, one of the great set-openers in the hard bop repertoire. This edition of the Messengers was a compositional powerhouse: nearly everyone in the band wrote, and wrote brilliantly, giving the records of this period a richness that goes far beyond blowing-session logic. Shorter's pieces already carry that unmistakable shadow; Hubbard plays like gravity is optional. Writing, soloing and sheer drive all operating at the highest level simultaneously. Blue Note CD of a cornerstone session.