WAYNE SHORTER — Schizophrenia (review)

WAYNE SHORTER — Schizophrenia album cover Album · 1969 · Post Bop Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Sean Trane
One of the albums that Shorter recorded while he was part of Miles’ second quintet, Schizophrenia is somewhat of a cornerstone or hinge in his solo discography. Indeed, while still entrenched in the standard jazz like his previous albums (like SNE, for ex), Wayne is definitely wondering about and sometimes daring to reach beyond himself, something that Miles was also doing, as clearly both men were pushing each other. The present album is still in the previous effort’s line, despite a psychedelic photo for artwork, with the usual suspects of Hancock, Chambers and Carter, but fronting a horn-trio with, perhaps, the less-expected Spaulding (flute, sax) and Fuller (trombone).

After the rather-standard Tom Thumb (and later on, the title track), Go enters a slow piano-driven hypnotizing piece where Spaulding’s flute charms you into its twirlings, while Shorter’s sax echoes on a lower register. But it’s not like we’re dealing with an avant-garde or experimental track either, just an itsy-bitsy tad more adventurous song. The flipside doesn’t fare much better, despite Spaulding’s enchanted flute swirls on Kryptonite, and Mikayo (which has nothing Japanese) or Playground don’t really wander off the beaten path.

Don’t go expecting an experimental album from Shorter just yet, nothing like the excellent Odyssey Of Iska, but the overall soundscapes have indeed become a tad more challenging than in such landmark albums like SNE, but much better is to come soon after this album. To be honest, if you’re into fusion music, the changes of the present compared to more prestigious album (like the star-studded NE) are not enough to acquire this album, so you’d better stick to that older brother. Not a bad album of course, but there are dozens or hundreds like this one.

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