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Friday, December 5, 2008 at 8 PM
Massey Hall
$79.50 - $49.50
Call 416-872-4255 or online at
www.roythomson.com
or visit the Roy Thomson Hall Box Office
More than half a century after embarking on his lifelong musical
adventure, Wayne Shorter is universally regarded as a living legend
in jazz. His amazing body of work as a composer for such illustrious
groups as Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Miles Davis’ famous mid-60s
quintet and fusion group Weather Report is enough to ensure him
a spot in the Jazz Hall of Fame. Last at Massey Hall in 2006, Shorter
and his quartet return for a gig December 5 at 8 PM, concluding
the Jazz @ Massey Hall series. If the prolific composer hadn’t written
a single tune, his signature sound, sense of economy, and unparalleled
expression on both tenor and soprano saxes would have earmarked
him for greatness. Combine the writing prowess with the fragmented,
probing solos and the enigmatic Buddhist philosopher presence and
you have the makings of a jazz immortal.
Shorter was nicknamed "The Newark Flash" during the 50s for his
dexterity on the tenor sax. As he career was taking off, he was
drafted. "A week before I went into the Army I went to the Café
Bohemia to hear music, I thought, for the last time in my life.
I was at the bar having a cognac and I had my draft notice in my
back pocket. I met Max Roach who said, "You’re the kid from Newark,
right? The Flash?’ He asked me to sit in. They changed drummers
all night, so Max played, then Art Taylor, then Art Blakey. Oscar
Pettiford was on cello. Jimmy Smith came in the door with his organ.
He drove to the club with his organ in a hearse. And Miles was
looking for somebody named Cannonball. And I’m saying to myself,
‘all this stuff is going on and I gotta join the Army in five days?!"
Upon his release from service, Shorter began jamming with fellow
tenor saxophonists John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. In 1959, Shoeter
had a brief stint with the Maynard Ferguson big band before joining
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in August of that year. He remained
with the Jazz Messengers through 1963, becoming Blakey’s musical
director and contributing several key compositions to the band’s
book during those years. In 1970, Shorter co-founded the group
Weather Report with keyboardist and Miles Davis alum Joe Zawinul.
It remained the premier fusion group through the 70s and into the
early 80s before it disbanded in 1985 after 16 acclaimed recordings,
including the 80s Grammy Award-winning double-live LP set, 8:30.
Shorter formed his own group in 1986 and produced a succession of
electric jazz albums for the Columbia label – 1986’s Atlantis, 1987’s
Phantom Navigator, 1988’s Joy Ryder. He re-emerged on the Verve
label with 1995’s High Life. After the tragic loss of his wife
due to a plane crash in 1996, Shorter returned to the scene with
1997’s 1+1, an intimate duet recording with Herbie Hancock. The
two spent 1998 touring as a duet and by the summer of 2001 Wayne
began touring as the leader of a talented young lineup featuring
pianist Danilo Pérez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian
Blade, all celebrated recording artists and bandleaders themselves.
The group’s uncanny chemistry was well documented in 2002’s acclaimed
Footprints Live! Shorter followed in 2003 with the ambitious Alegria,
and expanded vision for a large ensemble which earned him a Grammy
Award.
Shorter sees his 2005 recording, the live Beyond the Sound Barrier,
as part of a creative continuum. "It’s the same mission…fighting
the good fight," he says. "It’s making a statement about what life
is, really. A lot of musicians worry about protecting what I call
their musical foundation. They want to be on their Ps and Qs on
stage, put their best foot forward, play their best runs, their
best and try to impress people. But I’m at a point where I’m just
going to say, ‘to hell with the rules.’ That’s all I’m doing with
the music now. I’m in my 70s; I’ve got nothing to lose now. I’m
going for the unknown."
A biography has been written by Michelle Mercer entitled "Footprints:
The Life and Music of Wayne Shorter".
CBC Radio 2 is recording this concert for future broadcast.
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