When Wayne Shorter first emerged in the late 1950s, he was originally thought of as a John Coltrane-influenced tenor-saxophonist. It quickly became apparent that, though Shorter shared some influences with 'Trane, he was a true original. His solos and compositions were so personal and unique that it became impossible to trace them back to any historical predecessors. His music defied any classification, falling into an undisclosed location between hard bop and the avant garde; connected to jazz but existing in its own musical world.

Adam's Apple (1966) features Shorter at the top of his game. The album introduces the saxophonist's best known composition, "Footprints," an abstract tribute to John Coltrane, "Chief Crazy Horse" and a haunting ballad, "Teru." With Wayne Shorter cementing a musical friendship/partnership with Herbie Hancock that continues to this day, he creates a masterpiece that ranks among a handful of superb albums from the mid-1960s.

Like all Music Matters Jazz releases, this is cut from the original analog tapes, mastered by Ron Rambach and Kevin Gray at Cohearant Audio, and pressed at Record Technologies Inc (RTI). The gorgeous gatefold jacket is from Stoughton Printing in City of Industry, California and includes exclusively licensed photos from the original session inside.

ONE PER HOUSEHOLD

See more Wayne Shorter records here.