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Godspeed Wayne Shorter

#42
The weather is clear tonight and I saw Venus and Jupiter together up to the west, then I heard Wayne Shorter passed on NPR. They played some Nefertiti. Not visible, Mercury and Saturn are also together, this is like a Royal Road for Wayne to travel one more time
 
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#44
I was thinking and a positive thought came to me. Except for Tony Williams, all of Miles Davis’ sidemen in his second quintet have become octogenarians. Wayne Shorter almost made it to 90. Unlike John Coltrane and Paul Chambers from the first quintet, these men avoided the drug pitfall than shortened Miles Davis’ life and his mentor Charlie Parker. Jazz musicians living long lives and becoming mentors and sages is a wonderful thing.
 
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#46
Dr. Cheese said:
I was thinking and a positive thought came to me. Except for Tony Williams, all of Miles Davis’ sidemen in his second quintet have become octogenarians. Wayne Shorter almost made it to 90. Unlike John Coltrane and Paul Chambers from the first quintet, these men avoided the drug pitfall than shortened Miles Davis’ life and his mentor Charlie Parker. Jazz musicians living long lives and becoming mentors and sages is a wonderful thing.
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Conductors of orchestras seem to live long lives...you mean 3 out of five coincidently but... Ron Carter is some kind of redwood tree probably clean living, Herbie and Wayne are long term practicing Buddhists of the chanting kind, non smokers non drinkers and ate well.
 
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#52
I think Wayne was my favorite sax player and absolutely one of my top jazz composers. There's something so architectural in the way he could develop a solo or motif through the course of a song. And more than any other first-rate sax player to emerge from that era, Wayne could lay back and play parts that served a song rather than just blazing ten thousand notes every second.
 
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#53
This is truly & sadly, almost the end of an era of saxophone pioneers. We still have Sonny Rollins but time is cruel so whomever you listen to now, if they’re still alive go watch them play!! Unfortunately, our musical heroes, like us, are not immortal! :(

We should try to emulate Wayne Shorter, a true class act and follow in his Footprints!!!

RIP Wayne Shorter you are immortalized through your music!!!
 
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#54
conttador said:
This is truly & sadly, almost the end of an era of saxophone pioneers. We still have Sonny Rollins but time is cruel so whomever you listen to now, if they’re still alive go watch them play!! Unfortunately, our musical heroes, like us, are not immortal! :(

We should try to emulate Wayne Shorter, a true class act and follow in his Footprints!!!

RIP Wayne Shorter you are immortalized through your music!!!
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Well...It may be the end of one era, and an era that I'll always treasure... but the next era is well-launched. Two words: Chris Potter
 
#60
For his second great quintet, Miles already had hired Tony Williams, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock. And George Coleman on sax, that he thought being too "traditional" for what he "felt" was just starting. He desperately wanted Wayne Shorter, but on that period the guy was perfecting his already huge craft with "mothership" Art Blakey. And therefore the trumpet player made phone calls to every club he knew Wayne was playing with the Jazz Messengers. Art Blakey was always quicker in getting the headset and shouting: "Dewey it's you?" angry as hell! So he was always fighting with Miles. Eventually, he understood he just had to let Wayne fly. And Wayne Shorter started his brightest path.

Wayne Shorter is still today one of the very few artists you listen to and after two notes you just say "ah: this is Wayne!" either on alto or tenor sax. Prolific composer, he leaves so much music you might be embarassed in the choice. I like EVERYTHING he did: from the albums in which he only was a guest, to his production as a leader, to the Weather Report period and to the, maybe lesser known, but very important collaboration with Joni Mitchell.

On "Milky Way", the 2:30 first track on the very first Weather Report (self titled) album, there were only Joe Zawinul and him. Joe only plays a few blank piano cords without the attack (cut in post production) that gives you the idea of something that is airy a lot: a large and free, immense space. The birth of the universe or something like that, if you wish. Wayne there only plays a single note toward the end, for just one second. Or even less. That is supposed to mean the birth of the Man. And the presence of something that will last for a long period of time. As his musical heritage, btw.

R.I.P. Wayne. You had a beautiful, often suffered but meaningful life and you will be missed, played and remembered forever. You were a buddist, so you know you will be back. Only... just write and play again for us. Deal? :)
 
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