Concert: Wayne Shorter Quartet

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Wayne Shorter Quartet Concert Schedule

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Wayne Shorter Quartet

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Background:

Wayne Shorter is regarded as a legend in jazz and also as a saxophonist. He has worked with groups as Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver, Maynard Ferguson and himself co-founded Weather Report. The richness of his music and his compositions came from his philosophy. He says "Life is so mysterious to me, I can't stop at any one thing to say, 'Oh, this is what it is.' And I think it's always becoming, always becoming. That's the adventure. And imagination is part of that adventure."

Shorter was born in Newark, New Jersey. He did not take too long to turn to music. He reminisces "I remember seeing Lester Young when I was 15 years old. It was a Norman Granz Jazz at the Philharmonic show in Newark and he was late coming to the theater. Me and a couple of other guys were waiting out front of the Adams Theater and when he finally did show up, he had the pork pie hat and everything. So then we were trying to figure out how to get into the theater from the fire escape around the back. We eventually got into the mezzanine and saw that whole show -- Stan Kenton and Dizzy Gillespie bands together on stage doing 'Peanut Vendor,' Charlie Parker with strings doing 'Laura' and stuff like that. And Russell Jacquet...Ilinois Jacquet. He was there doing his thing. That whole scene impressed me so much that I just decided, 'Hey, man, let me get a clarinet.' So I got one when I was 16, and that's when I started music."

While still a teenager Shorter formed a band ''The Jazz Informers'' and also played with the Jackie Bland Band, that specialized in bebop. In high school, he had an encounter with sax great Sonny Stitt. The encounter was nothing short of inspiration for him.
In college he continued his musical journey by playing with the Nat Phipps orchestra. In 1956, he worked briefly with Johnny Eaton and his Princetonians. There he earned the nickname "The Newark Flash" for his speed and skill on the saxophone. But before he could make an early mark, Shorter was drafted into the Army.

After the stint in army Shorter played with Horace Silver. Around this time he met saxophonists John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. Then Shorter had a brief stint with the Maynard Ferguson big band. But the turning point was his joining Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He remained with the Jazz Messengers for more than four years becoming Art's musical director and contributing several key compositions to the band.

He joined the Miles Davis band in 1964 and remained with them for six years. This was another fruitful period. this was when he composed such great numbers as "Nefertiti," "E.S.P.," "Pinocchio," "Sanctuary," "Fall" and "Footprints."

In 1970, along with Joe Zawinul (keyboard), Miroslav Vitous ( bass), Airto Moreira (percussion), and Alphonse Mouzon (drum), Shorter formed Weather Report, of which he remained a member until 1985, when it disbanded.
They produced 16 scintillating tracks including 1980's Grammy Award-winning double-live LP set, 8:30. Later, Shorter formed his own group in 1986 and produced a succession of electric jazz albums.

After the tragic loss of his wife in 1996, Shorter returned to the scene with 1997's 1+1, with pianist and former Miles Davis quintet bandmate Herbie Hancock. His latest ''Live Beyond the Sound Barrier'' is another stop in a creative journey. "It's the same mission...fighting the good fight, It's making a statement about what life is, really. And I'm going to end the line with it. A lot of musicians worry about protecting what I call their musical foundation. They want to be on their Ps and Qs on stage, put their best foot forward, play their best runs, their best and try to impress people. But I'm at a point where I'm just going say, 'To hell with the rules.' That's all I'm doing with the music now. I'm 71, I've got nothing to lose now. I'm going for the unknown."

Discography:
As leader

1959 Blues à la Carte
1959 Introducing Wayne Shorter
1960 Second Genesis
1961 Free Form
1962 Wayning Moments
1962 Wayning Moments Plus
1964 Night Dreamer
1964 JuJu
1964 Speak No Evil
1965 The Soothsayer
1965 The Collector
1965 Et Cetera
1965 The All Seeing Eye
1966 Adam's Apple
1967 Schizophrenia
1969 Super Nova
1970 Moto Grosso Feio
1970 Odyssey of Iska
1974 Native Dancer
1985 Atlantis
1986 Phantom Navigator
1988 Joy Ryder
1994 High Life
2002 Footprints Live
2003 Alegría
2005 Beyond the Sound Barrier

With Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers

1959 Africaine
1960 A Night in Tunisia
1960 Like Someone in Love
1960 Meet You at the Jazz Corner of the World
1960 Roots & Herbs
1960 The Big Beat
1961 A Day With Art Blakey
1961 Impulse!!! Art Blakey!!! Jazz Messengers!!!
1961 Buhaina's Delight
1961 Mosaic
1961 The Freedom Rider
1961 The Witch Doctor
1961 Tokyo 1961
1962 Caravan
1962 Three Blind Mice, Volume 1
1962 Three Blind Mice, Volume 2
1963 Ugetsu
1964 Free for All
1964 Indestructible

With Lee Morgan

1964 Search for the New Land
1965 The Gigolo
1966 Delightfulee
1967 The Procrastinator

With Miles Davis

1963 Seven Steps to Heaven
1964 Miles In Berlin
1965 E.S.P.
1965 Live at the Plugged Nickel
1967 Miles Smiles
1967 Nefertiti
1967 Sorcerer
1968 Filles de Kilimanjaro
1968 Miles in the Sky
1969 In A Silent Way
1969 Bitches Brew
1970 Live at the Fillmore East

With Weather Report

1971 Weather Report
1972 I Sing The Body Electric
1973 Sweetnighter
1974 Mysterious Traveller
1975 Black Market
1975 Tale Spinnin'
1977 Heavy Weather
1978 Mr. Gone
1979 8:30
1980 Night Passage
1982 Weather Report
1983 Procession
1983 Domino Theory
1984 Sportin' Life
1985 This Is This!

With Carlos Santana
1980 The Swing of Delight