In the mid-'60 and after, when it seemed as if jazz composition and jazz saxophone were running out of options, there was Wayne Shorter to open new doors. With Art Blakey, with his own recordings, with Miles Davis, with Weather Report and more, Shorter applied sophisticated yet tuneful harmonic structures to his writing, and played with an infinitely gentle finesse supported by a core of oaken strength.
Though he often resorted to soprano sax in later years, Shorter impressed us most deeply on tenor. Listen to him with Miles in 1967 on his own classic "Footprints." And watch his eyes, turned inward into eternity, as he strokes and blends the edges of his notes while crafting two and a half minutes of logical, compelling, awe-inspiring improvisation. What Miles has revealed about the state of a torn human heart at the beginning of the song, Shorter has swaddled into a blanket of Possibility and shot into the future.
Shorter experienced much loss, much difficulty. But he left so much music, more than just footprints. Many thanks.
* * *
Read MetalJazz's review of a 2021 rebroadcast of the 2018 final performance of Wayne Shorter Quartet here.