| JuJu | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 25 reviews)
Sales Rank: 49069
Category: Music
Artist: Wayne Shorter
Publisher: Blue Note Records
Studio: Blue Note Records
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
Label: Blue Note Records
Format: Limited Edition, Original Recording Reissued, Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 99005
UPC: 724349900523
EAN: 0724349900523
ASIN: B00000IWVU
Release Date: May 18, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Excellent sax & a rhythm section May 31, 2003
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
My first listen to the song "Juju" was a little disappointing, and I liked the tamer alternate version better. After a few more listens, I agreed with Wayne's decision to go with the more challenging version he went with. In general, the songs are fairly catchy (in contrast to some of the '65-68 Miles Davis stuff Wayne played on later), and Wayne's playing is superb. He does just a well on faster pieces like "Juju" as slower ones like "Deluge" or "House of Jade". I especially like "Yes or No".
Wayne does Trane? January 17, 2003
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
Let me start off by saying that this is a very good record and should be purchased by any avid jazz fan. However, in the following paragraphs I'm going to sound like I'm putting it down because I like _Speak No Evil_ so much better, but then I should mention that _Speak No Evil_ is about my favorite jazz album right now.Many people put _Juju_ on a par with Wayne Shorter's masterpiece _Speak No Evil_, but I really can't for a couple of reasons. In tone, soloing, and compositions Shorter seems to be inviting comparison to John Coltrane, and that's not really "him" when you consider the rest of Shorter's output. "House of Jade" and "Mahjong" have that flair of the exotic which is a unique and colorful mark of Shorter's compositions, but elsewhere on this album Wayne often (not always) sounds like nothing so much as a Coltrane knockoff (particularly on "Yes Or No", which he emphatically is not, as his subsequent album _Speak No Evil_ was to amply demonstrate. The playing on _Juju_ is perhaps more "exciting," and McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones play wonderfully together, but their combination only adds to the faux-Coltrane illusion. Some of this sounds a bit like _A Love Supreme_ outtakes, and you may well ask "what's wrong with that?" and I'd say "hey, I just thought this was a Wayne Shorter album." The sound quality of this recording leaves much to be desired. I don't have the RVG remastered edition, but I hear it's not much better. Sonically it sometimes sounds as though the musicians are playing in different rooms. Wayne is given a left-speaker, and Tyner a right-speaker, bias, but the levels don't match up. The piano sounds rather distant, which is unfortunate, as Tyner's playing is excellent. The bass is mixed about one notch above subliminal. Elvin Jones' ride-cymbal work, though very exciting, overpowers the treble range in many spots. The playing is superb, and the tunes very good, but stylistically and technically I definitely prefer _Speak No Evil_. You get the idea.
And the Winner is.... September 19, 2002
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
If we listen to the best Jazz played today, we see that among the many directions suggested in the 1960's, Shorter's way has been the most influential. MOstly through his great work with Miles Davis' second great quintet, but also through his own recordings, Shorter created music that was both inside and outside, had free elements within known forms, and allowed the artists creativity in contexts that still relied on such terms as chords and scales.
In Juju, recorded in 1964, Shorter's sound is dry, heavily influenced by Coltrane. The use Tyner, Jones and Workman adds more weight to the comparison. Shorter reminds me of Coltrane, but his energy is different. With Coltrane you feel that every solo is treated as though it is his last, while Shorter, energetic as he is, saves a little for later.
All tunes are by Shorter, and they are all unique. Tyner and Jones sound as if they really enjoy this one, and push Shorter to give his best. They work really well with workman.
Some may complain that this music is less "listenable" than Somethin' Else (Adderley & Davis) or even "The Sidewinder" (Morgan).
It is true that those masterpieces are hard to compete with, but Juju is a work of daring creative artists in top form, and this kind of work has the tendency to attract the initiated, the "experts" first, while the uninitiated come to it a little later, if they persist.
 Wayne & the Classic Quartet December 14, 2001
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This followup to the excellent Night Dreamer is one of Wayne Shorter's best albums on Blue Note record. It places him in a challenging context: he's the only horn in front of two members and one alumnus of John Coltrane's rhythm section. Any lesser musician would have been smothered by juggernauts like Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner, but Shorter rises to the challenge. And rather than marking him as a Trane disciple, the backing really highlights differences between the two. The opening track, "Ju Ju", places him in the surging modal groove that this rhythm section had mastered on "My Favorite Things" and "Out of This World"; but Wayne's playing is a bit more quirky and asymmetrical, less dense than that of Elvin and McCoy's boss. "Deluge" and "Mahjong" highlight Shorter's growing ability to convey images or ideas through composition. And his tunes are always completely surprising, taking 90 degree turns where you least expecting them -- the ballad "House of Jade" (beautiful intro by Tyner) is a classic example. "Yes or No" ventures into Coltrane territory in classic Shorter curveball fashion, while "12 More Bars to Go" is a blues with several connotations. Along with Speak No Evil this is the perfect introduction to Wayne Shorter's solo albums. Great saxophone playing, great sidemen, and great compositions. Who could complain?
the title track might throw you February 9, 2001
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This really is a great Shorter record, but sometimes I play this record for people and they just don't get the title track. It must be the augmented chords...if you want to check this out I might suggest saving the title track for last. Yes or No is a classic. Deluge and Mahjongg are beautiful. I'd put this second or third in the Shorter catalog (1 and 2 being Speak No Evil and Night Dreamer).
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