RIP Wayne Shorter

[Bach5G]

A giant is gone.

[EriKon]

Yes, this is really sad

[AndrewMeronek]

Damn, rough week.

[Trombonjon]

What a legacy!

[DonH]

Here's a Wayne Tune-

[Joebone]

So it's 1978 and I have two years of R&B, salsa, and jazz gigs under my belt, and am at the beginning of what turned out to be a 4-year run with Teddy Pendergrass. We're in Vegas for a week, and while I appreciate all of the gigging opportunities provided by that scene, I DETEST the casino industry. After our shows I'm in the tired/wired mode, bored out of my gourd, and doing the usual after-gig hang in some hotel room. Someone pops a cassette of the following album into their boom box...and my musical aspirations and direction are instantly transformed:



I'd been aware and respectful of Wayne Shorter, via his Miles years and Weather Report, but this was an entirely different experience. I'd been pondering what and how I wanted to play. Pretty much self-taught but with access in college to a wide range of jazz records by way of astute friends and roommates, I was listening constantly, and evaluating what was going on. I studied the bop tunes and beyond, but being a bop or hard bop revivalist seemed like a dead end, commercial music was only a means to an end (food, shelter and tuition, although playing with good musicians provided its own reward, even in the repetitive commercial venture), I wasn't classically trained - or inclined - free jazz wasn't so compelling that I'd commit to it, and while Mahavishnu had been an early and compelling inspiration, fusion seemed headed for the wall, and while l respected the musicianship, I couldn't get with the smug, slick, snark of Steely Dan.

"Native Dancer" illuminated an alternative path that I completely embraced. That album drew on an emotional palette far broader than anything else I'd ever heard on one record, and with a breath-taking depth of feeling and commitment. It was OK to play beautifully, and to tease out feelings of warmth and community, rather than irony and alienation. And while I encourage listening to this entire album - every single tune is a masterpiece - I particularly implore review of "Lilia," at 32:09.

One of my Pendergrass bandmates and I formed a workshop/band in Philly, doing Brazilian and Latin Jazz. Many of us had road gigs, so the notion was that enough people would know the tunes and vibe so gigs (bar gigs, and the occasional church basement) could be covered regardless of who was in town. For many of those gigs I was the sole horn, and I can't tell you how much fun it was to cover "Beauty and the Beast" and "Lilia," off of Native Dancer, and to try internalizing Wayne Shorter's incredible comprehension of time and musical possibilities, throughout all of my improvisational opportunities.

Ultimately I changed careers and have not consistently played trombone since 1989. But when I do play, Wayne Shorter's questing, exploratory sensibility is imprinted in my soul. On the real, I'm NOWHERE close to what he brought, and if I can't soon commit to meaningful practice, I won't be able to realize even that which I do hear and comprehend.

So apologies for this long-winded riff, but Wayne Shorter was an absolute master musician, and I'm so, so grateful for all that I've learned from hearing him over these many years. Not just about music, but about perception, particularly in space and time. Example - he's fronting his quartet, and roaming the stage, clearly seeking places and postures that acoustically favor his intended sonic effect.

I'll leave the influence of his Buddhist (Nichiren Soshsu) practice for others to limn. And I have to note the tragedies in his personal life - losing his dad at an early age, children who died young, loss of his second wife to an airplane accident - all of which must have further intensified his musical quest.

So let's all celebrate the remarkable achievements of a genuine musical genius. RIP, Wayne Shorter.

[andym]

Joebone, that’s beautiful.

For me, I see his name and immediately hear the opening of a Weather Report album I have played a lot during college. Need to dig into the music that moved you so much.