Big John Patton

On 1967's Schizophrenia Shorter arrived at the pinnacle of post-bop and gazed out at the horizons around him. A current of the avant-garde already coursed through his music and the next time he would enter the studio for Blue Note would be for his 1969 fusion exploration Super Nova. But in this moment, he produced one of his most complete and stylistically diverse artistic statements with a sextet of like-minded musical adventurers, including James Spaulding on alto saxophone and flute, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums. The six-song set of original compositions includes several of Shorter's most enduring themes including the unforgettable groove of "Tom Thumb," the evocative "Go," and the beautiful ballad "Miyako," as well as Spaulding's churning piece "Kryptonite."