Wayne's Sessions for Miles and Lee at Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa

Once upon a time, Miles Davis asked Wayne Shorter to compose music for an orchestral album. Yet neither those legendary sessions with Miles nor the similarly planned recordings with Lee Morgan ever came to life. The extraordinary scores remained hidden for decades—a silent treasure stacked in Wayne's home— until they were rediscovered by Phillip Golub, assistant musical director of Shorter's opera Iphigenia, with a libretto by Esperanza Spalding.

When conductor Clark Rundell first laid eyes on the manuscripts written for two of the greatest trumpeters in jazz history, he knew they deserved to be heard. He chose to bring this long-lost music to life as the third chapter of the Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa symphonic project, following the acclaimed Shorter Symphonic (2015) and Celebrating the Symphonic Legacy of Wayne Shorter (2023).

There was only one trumpeter universally accepted by all partners for this delicate mission—a musician capable of channeling the spirit of both Miles Davis and Lee Morgan: Ambrose Akinmusire. He embraced the project with open arms and led a stellar American sextet featuring Dayna Stephens on saxophone, Sam Harris on piano, Mike Moreno on guitar, Harish Raghavan on double bass, and Kendrick Scott on drums.

Together with the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, they finally gave voice to this forgotten music at Cavatina Hall in Bielsko-Biała (on March 21, 2026)—a historic meeting of American jazz brilliance and European symphonic tradition, and the world premiere of compositions that had waited nearly half a century to be heard.

Other photo reports from the same festival: Francesca Tandoi Trio at Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa, Dave Holland & Lionel Loueke at Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa, Aaron Parks Trio & Kurt Rosenwinkel at Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa, Steve Coleman and Five Elements at Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa. Look for the rest soon.