Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Wayne Shorter: Alegria
Wayne Shorter: Alegria
This degree of communication and commitment is evident on all three tracks that feature last year's Footprints Live! group. On "She Moves Through the Fair," Shorter deftly switches from sweet soprano to tenor and back, while Brian Blade's impressionistic cymbals splash underneath, like water being thrown from a pail and landing on a plate glass window. "Capricorn II" is a showcase for tenor and piano where both Shorter and Perez solo with bluesy mystery.
The other tracks on Alegría, Shorter's first all-acoustic studio recording since 1967, augment the quartet with brass, winds, strings, and Latin percussion. While Perez and Blade are not on every track, John Patitucci's bass is, bowed elegantly in a duet with cello on a Brazilian version of Bach, pliant and chunky with Alex Acuña and Terri Lyne Carrington's percussion on "Angola" (from Shorter's Miles Davis years). On "Orbits," first heard during the Davis period, woodwinds embellish Shorter's dirty, strangulated tenor sound on top of Patitucci's muscular foundation. It's a rich contrast.
Alegría is jazz music of the highest pedigree. It demonstrates the full range of Wayne Shorter's musical imagination and intelligence, challenging the conventions of category. At turns orchestral, classical, latinized and traditional, the work rewards repeated listening: for its brilliant arrangements, extraordinary rhythms, and wondrous individual musicianship. In Wayne Shorter, a giant walks among us.
Track Listing
1. Sacajawea 2. Serenata 3. Vendiendo Alegria 4. Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 5. Angola 6. Interlude 7. She Moves Through The Fair 8. Orbits 9. 12th Century Carol 10. Capricorn II
Personnel
Wayne Shorter
saxophoneWayne Shorter (arranger, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Robert Sadin (arranger); Chris Potter (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet); Lew Soloff, Chris Gekker (trumpet); Bruce Eidem, Michael Boschen, Jim Pugh, Steve Davis (trombone); Marcus Rojas (tuba); John Clark, Stewart Rose (horns); Paul Dunkel (flute); Allen Blustine (clarinet, bass clarinet); Stephen Taylor (oboe, English horn); Frank Morelli (bassoon); David Garrett, Barry Gold, Gloria Lum, Daniel Rothmuller, Brent Samuel, Cecilia Tsan, Charles Curtis (cello); Danilo Perez, Brad Mehldau (piano); John Patitucci (bass); Brian Blade, Terri Lynne Carrington (drums); Alex Acuna (percussion).
Album information
Title: Alegria | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Verve Music Group
About Wayne Shorter
Tags
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Become a Sustaining Member
Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.
Help Build the Future of All About Jazz
Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.
Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.
Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.
