the WAYNE SHORTER thread

Maybe it's too ambitious, but I'm thinking about doing a listen to his discography start to finish project (not sure whether to just do solo stuff or not. Weather Report? I don't really want to do Jazz Messengers or 60s Miles Quintet, love those just not interested in retreading them right now). Would that be worth a thread? Would people be interested?

Sure I love a liveblog, and I'm not as familiar with his post-'60s work

Introducing Wayne Shorter (1959) is a record I've dug for a while and I think is severely underrated. I've never listened to his second-recorded album as a leader, Second Genesis, which was recorded in '60 but didn't come out until '74.

I'd be interested, don't know how much I'd have to contribute but I'd love to see what others have to say. I'm woefully unfamiliar with his solo output, know a fair amount of Weather Report. But this morning I've listened to Night Dreamer, Juju, and am currently on Speak No Evil, and they're all excellent.

Listening to Introducing Wayne Shorter now (for the first time), it's swangin. I didn't know that he recorded with the Miles Davis rhythm section of the (Kind of Blue) time for his first record, years before joining MD.

Also great to hear peak Jimmy Cobb getting some trading and solos in

WKCR Memorial Broadcast going until midnight tonight
https://www.cc-seas.columbia.edu/wkcr/story/wayne-shorter-memorial-broadcast

My expat jazz cat buddy JohnW just now in gmail:

My favorite Wayne Shorter solos are the ones where it seems that the "real" solo is going on in his head, and what he's playing on the tenor saxophone are occasional comments on that solo.

I think the most vibrant and resounding tribute album to Wayne as a composer was done back in the 80's in the jazz piano duo format. Shorter by Two - Kirk Lightsey & Harold Danko. Just had to drop this here because it's beautiful and imbued with the spirit of Wayne.

Wow, haven't heard it but the description sounds great!

I liked Denny Zeitlin’s tribute album from a few years back.

I liked Denny Zeitlin’s tribute album from a few years back.

Shorter by Two

👍

I actually ran into Wayne Shorter once with him coming off an elevator at a Hilton in Miami Beach during one of the few business trips I ever had to do. Him and running into Kurt Vonnegut way at the back of the Union at IU really are the only two celebrity encounters I ever had like that.

Thinking about Shorters music and going through his huge discography a couple of his sideman appearances jumped out at me as not being mentioned in this thread and if you have not heard them, they are worth checking out. Both of them have all star lineups of players.

Lee Morgan- The Search for New Land

McCoy Tyner- Extensions

Good interview:
https://ethaniverson.com/interview-with-wayne-shorter/
intro:

From April 2015, for the BBC’s Jazz on 3, but unfortunately that show concluded before this interview could be aired. Transcribed by Kevin Sun.

The following is heavily edited for clarity. One of the best previous interviews of Wayne was the first, collected in Black Music by Amiri Baraka.

—-

Speaking of Wayne and Lee Morgan, Indiana Public Radio's every-handy Night Lights' Shorter stash is topped with a blow-out showcase of (some of) the sounds they made together--but what the hell, here's the whole Night Lights Wayne train:
https://indianapublicmedia.org/search/?q=Wayne+Shorter&cx=002327456492095995457%3Aatgbv6ivl-g&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIgQCgMbRDE

been going through all the blakey records finally. this ("contemplation") is a wonderful wayne song/showcase

Definitely a highlight of a great album. That group in particular (with Hubbard, Fuller and Walton as well as Shorter) was Blakey's best - marvelous chemistry.

https://jonimitchell.com/news/newsitem.cfm?id=1731

^kind of one of the best stories ever really imo

amazing

Anyone seen the documentary? I want to see it but I don't really want to subscribe to Amazon Prime (and it isn't currently available as a rental, I guess because it's new)

Loved the doc. It's unwieldy in parts but I think that's because Shorter was such a ... erm...unique human. He just seemed to be pure creativity - if that makes any kind of sense. And through this his life was constantly pummeled with crazy, sad blows. The kind of stuff that would make a husk out of most of us. And the man just kept on being spiritual, being in love with music and searching for whatever he was searching for. I have even greater respect for him after watching this.

I need to watch this pronto.

I haven’t listened to but a drop of his catalogue but is there anybody who embodied pure creativity the way he did? I mean as I type this I am thinking of a few names but in a lot of ways he was first in class.

I remember once I briefly met one of his collaborators and they pretty much started talking about him right away: “Wayne said this, Wayne said that” etc

Meant to say started talking about him without any prompting from me. As of course I should know who Wayne was and of course I would want to hear what he said which was 100% true.

I've watched the first two hours — the second hour is unbelievably tragic, but at the same time you get a lot of insight into the inner workings of Weather Report, which I found fascinating. I also had no idea just how much work he'd done with Joni Mitchell, because I don't listen to her music, but now I might.

This thing is in three parts? So far the first part is excellent. It even made me like Neil deGrasse Tyson again.

Damn, don't have Amazon but I need to watch this.

"Shorter was such a ... erm...unique human"

I saw him play as duo with Herbie in 97 or 98. Before they played Maiden Voyage he gave a rather lengthy explanation that the song was about aliens and space travel.