One of the greatest jazz saxophone players and composers of all time is dead. Wayne Shorter died Thursday in Los Angeles, aged 89. 😢 Wayne had a 15-year run in the group Weather Report, a jazz rock fusion group he co-founded, playing alongside Zawinul, Miroslav Vitous and Jaco until 1985.
Much more significant was his role in Miles Davis' 2nd Great Quintet (with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and a young Tony Williams) in the 1960s, where he almost re-defined abstract post-bop jazz. That quintet didn't just jazzify standard songs, they played their own tunes – Wayne's tunes. Herbie Hancock called Shorter his “best friend”, going on to say that the late musician “left us with courage in his heart, love and compassion for all, and a seeking spirit for the eternal future. I carry his spirit within my heart always,” Hancock said.
Very important records: "Speak no Evil", "Juju" and everything the 2nd Great Quintet released, especially "Nefertiti".
Wayne is dead, but his music will be here forever.
The following tunes can be found on Miles Davis albums, but in fact these are Wayne Shorter compositions. [media=https://youtu.be/Iu0IfC_IUaA]
[media=https://youtu.be/bF6nQqu-_p4]
[media=https://youtu.be/MzuLP91ELhE] Wayne performing with Miles Davis in London in 1967. Davis, in his autobiography, called Mr. Shorter “the conceptualizer of a whole lot of musical ideas we did.”
