Stefon Harris, Jason Moran, Greg Osby & Mark Shim - New Directions (2000)

In the 1960s, jazz musicians signed to the Blue Note label often appeared on each other's albums in various all-star groupings. Then the tradition faded – at least until the late 1990s. "New Directions" revives the tradition, featuring several of Blue Note's brightest stars – vibraphonist Stefon Harris, pianist Jason Moran, tenor saxophonist Mark Shim, and (relative veteran and nominal group leader) alto saxophonist Greg Osby – reinterpreting classic material drawn from the Blue Note archives. While the choices lean toward the boogaloo side of the catalog – Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder," Horace Silver's "Song for My Father," Joe Henderson's "Recorda Me" – the arrangements are closer in the spirit to the cool cerebralism of Wayne Shorter. Moran is the most immediately original of the young players here; check for his inside-out solo on "Sidewinder" and the piano-vibes duet on Sam Rivers's "Beatrice." But the unsung heroes of the session are bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits, who play hot and cool, hip-hop and postbop, all in the same blue note. –Rick Mitchell

Tracklist:

01. Theme from BLW Up (Hancock) 06:59
02. The Sidewinder (Morgan) 05:04
03. Ping Pong (Shorter) 04:54
04. Beatrice (Rivers) 04:01
05. No Room for Squares (Mobley) 04:57
06. Song for My Father (Silver) 07:18
07. Tom Thumb (Shorter) 05:06
08. Commentary on Electrical Switches (Moran) 02:43
09. Big Bertha (Pearson) 04:39
10. Recorda Me (Henderson) 04:27
11. Song of the Whispering Banshee (Harris) 05:49
12. False Start 0:44
13. 20 Questions (Osby) 04:03

Musicians:
Alto Saxophone – Greg Osby
Bass – Tarus Mateen
Drums – Nasheet Waits
Piano – Jason Moran
Tenor Saxophone – Mark Shim
Vibraphone – Stefon Harris
Arranged By – Greg Osby (tracks: 2, 13), Jason Moran (tracks: 3, 5 to 7), Mark Shim (tracks: 9, 10), Stefon Harris (tracks: 1, 11)

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ on May 10 & 11, 1999.