Art Blakey's
Like Someone in Love is a product of the fertile group that included saxophonist
Wayne Shorter, trumpeter
Lee Morgan, pianist
Bobby Timmons, and bassist
Jymie Merritt. While it is not usually considered an essential
Blakey album, it is easily one of the best. This is due not only to the impressive
Jazz Messenger musicianship, but more significantly to the stellar original compositions by
Shorter, who was coming into his own not only as an improviser, but perhaps more significantly as an adept and forward-thinking songwriter. Tracks such as the brisk "Noise in the Attic" and the swinging "Giantis" foreshadow the iconic mid- and late-'60s modal work the tenor saxophonist would accomplish on such albums as
Night Dreamer and
JuJu. Notably, "Sleeping Dancer Sleep On," while a rather obscure
Shorter waltz-ballad, reveals a mellow, searching quality that would soon come to define the more reflective side of '60s hard bop. Similarly,
Morgan's one addition, the danceably funky "Johnny's Blue," seems to prefigure his own classic
Sidewinder to be released three years later. Interestingly, although they are not packaged together,
Like Someone in Love and
A Night in Tunisia both come from the same recording session. [The
Rudy Van Gelder Edition of
Like Someone in Love features remastered sound by original producer
Van Gelder, which does significantly improve the overall sound quality over the original release.] ~ Matt Collar