Jazz Articles about Wayne Shorter

Wayne Shorter: Footprints Live!

by Celeste Sunderland
August 1, 2002

Could saxophonist Wayne Shorter have known that the songs he wrote and recorded back in the '60s would be fresher than ever over 30 years later? Of course not, but he cranks them out on his new disc Footprints Live! with confident, fresh, Scope-tinged breath. Perhaps the jazz icon didn't realize how timeless his tunes would be, but he knew he'd never lose his cool.

Last year Shorter put together a group of fine musicians - pianist Danilo Perez, bassist ...

Wayne Shorter: Footprints Live!

by David Adler
May 1, 2002

For decades it seemed that Wayne Shorter had lost interest in acoustic jazz. But a 1998 Lincoln Center performance hinted at his continued stake in the idiom, and a few years later, in 2001, he thrilled the jazz community by embarking on a whirlwind tour with a stunning new quartet. Featuring pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade, Shorter's group raised the roof wherever it went, garnering rave reviews and proving that the iconic saxophonist had a ...

Weather Report: Mysterious Traveller

by Todd S. Jenkins
April 23, 2002

In 1974, three years after the band's inception, Weather Report became one of the world's most popular jazz groups due to their uncompromising originality and musicianship. This was the year that founding member Miroslav Vitous was replaced by Alphonso Johnson, who became a critical asset as both a fluid, creative bassist and a composer. Drummer Ishmael Wilburn and Brazilian percussionist Dom Um Romao, with a shifting cast of supporting players, laid the foundation for the band's most exciting incarnation yet. ...

Miles Davis: The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions

by Michael Fortuna
December 1, 2001

Miles Davis was an innovator from the moment he first picked up the trumpet. But for years, the public didn't have a clear enough picture of Davis' journey from jazz into the rock/funk sounds of James Brown and Jimi Hendrix as well as his use of electric instruments.At the time, all the public knew of was the funk groove and electric piano sounds of “Stuff" from Miles in the Sky, followed by more electric sounds on Filles de ...

Wayne Shorter: Introducing Wayne Shorter

by C. Michael Bailey
December 1, 2001

The Beginning of something beautiful.

Koch Jazz is beginning to release a good bit of the old Vee Jay catalog. Preceding this release was Bill Henderson's His Complete Vee Jay Recordings (Koch Jazz). Now it appears that Koch Jazz is to compete with the recent Mosaic box highlighting Wayne Shorter ( The Complete Vee Jay Lee Morgan - Wayne Shorter Sessions Mosaic 202). What is good about this is the Mosaic Box will not be around forever. It would be ...

Miles Davis: The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions

by Jim Santella
August 1, 2001

Three previously unissued performances and six months of Miles Davis' recording activity mark this 3-CD set as something special. This was a transitional time for the bandleader. It marked the beginning of a fusion. The package documents this period very well. Davis wanted a new sound. With several keyboards and significant changes in personnel, he got it. The trumpeter introduced his musical changes gradually. The more radical shift would come later. These sessions are pleasant and full of intrigue. In ...

Miles Davis: The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions

by Todd S. Jenkins
June 1, 2001

Another Miles classic re-excavated with grand results. In A Silent Way was an astonishing step further towards a fusion of jazz and rock for Miles Davis, and for jazz in general, when it was released in 1969. The acoustic instruments of Davis, Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland and Tony Williams were combined with John McLaughlin’s electric guitar, Joe Zawinul’s organ, and the twin electric pianos of Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. Each LP side held a medley of two themes. Miles’ ...