Wayne Shorter will hand you your own ass when he's nice and done with it. Which is a rather crude way of saying that Shorter is nothing short of a breathing legend.
He's played with an exhaustive list of jazz artists, who should be required listening in any music appreciation class, including Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, among others.
Shorter's got solos and compositions that expertly balance the aesthetics of accessibility and the avant-garde. Just call him 'Mr. Jazz,' he'll be your musical Jedi on Sunday, Oct. 27, at Popejoy Hall.
Shorter's career spans over 40 years, where he crossed paths with many of history's indisputable giants of jazz. In 1962 he was named the number one "New Star Saxophonist" by the Downbeat poll. For composition he came in second only to the legendary Duke Ellington.
He began recording solo albums but abandoned his solo career for a short time to join Miles Davis' band. There, playing with the greats Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, Shorter helped develop the sounds that shaped that incredible decade.
His influence and musical prowess during this period was remarkable. Of his experience with Shorter, Herbie Hancock said, "The master writer to me, in that group, was Wayne Shorter. Wayne was one of the few people who brought music to Miles that didn't get changed."
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Shorter formed an ensemble and went on his first all-acoustic tour in years, and recorded the incredible Footprints, Live!, his first all-acoustic album since 1967. Featuring Damilo Perez on keys, John Patitucci on bass and Brian Blade on drums, the album is a gem. Unlike some jazz works, the album appears to exist outside of the elitist vacuum that unfortunately swallowed jazz away from the general public around the middle of the last century. There are moments that quote such diverse pop idioms as hip-hop, industrial, and even heavy metal, but in a thinly veiled context. You won't listen to this album and say "Hey! That's so Nine Inch Nails!" but the vocabulary is there.
The accessibility of the album is probably due to its natural feel. Everything about it is organic. This stems from both the band's collective musical mastery and their collaboration process.
"Danilo, John, and Brian all have their own bands so there's no hesitation with them," Shorter said.
Yes, Shorter is the star, but part of his artistry is his sensitivity to the other musicians. There are almost too many two-part simultaneous solos on this album to count. In particular, Perez and Blade appear to have secretly perfected Borg technology, explaining their ability to instantly create perfectly complementing parts to accompany Shorter during his musical narratives.
Many times Shorter and his group go beyond simple figuration of the chord chart. Some of these pieces will be almost unrecognizable to even long-time Shorter fans, who will recognize the name of every piece on Footprints, Live! It's some of Shorter's finest work The beautiful thing is that you now have the opportunity to see these miracles occur. Go now. Buy Shorter's new CD Footprints, Live!, then go to the concert on Sunday and watch it all happen.
