You Know, You Need To Be More Exposed

Welcome back, dear readers. After a little hiatus (recovering from the confines of a top 20 list), we're back to other topics at The Ideological Cuddle.
Just finished a wonderful biography of one of my favorite jazz musicians - Wayne Shorter. The book, Footprints: The Life and Work of Wayne Shorter by Michelle Mercer (available here for the bargain basement price of $5.98) was an enlightening view into the world of one of jazz history's most celebrated and misunderstood geniuses. It's a fast, but deep read that benefits from Mercer spending months with Shorter, absorbing his off-kilter genius.
If you poll jazz aficionados as to their favorite tenor sax players of all time, Coltrane, Rollins, and Young will likely lead the pack. Coleman Hawkins and Hank Mobley might even get mentions. The man who might not get picked (but clearly should) is Wayne Shorter. He kind of gets a raw deal as being pigeon-holed as a Coltrane knock-off, but closer scrutiny into his sound reveals that his sound is much more chameleonic - he actually tried to imitate different tenor players depending on the song, the mood, the venue, even the weather. That's not to say that he didn't have a sound all of his own (especially once he picked up Coltrane's helm of the king of the soprano sax) - the gentle force of Coltrane, the flying fingers of Rollins, the wholeness of tone of Mobley, and at times, the sadness of Young can all be heard in Shorter's sound. The thing that always separated Shorter from his tenor contemporaries was his writing - he's unparalleled in the realm of performing composers of jazz (especially in the post-bop, avant garde, and fusion areas).
Shorter was born in Newark, NJ and, along with his brother Alan (an avant garde jazz trumpeter of some renown who may have been a little too out there for American audiences - he moved to Europe in the '70s) was quite a misunderstood child, obtaining the nickname, "Mr. Weird". Reading the biography, a clinician such as myself can't help but glean hints that Shorter may actually fit on the autistic spectrum - high-functioning, of course - possibly fitting the criteria for Asperger Syndrome. He quickly gained a reputation as a genius of the tenor sax while at NYU, gaining the nickname "The Newark Flash" and gaining the attention of his first famous employer, Maynard Ferguson (in whose band he played with Joe Zawinul - more on him later).
Shorter didn't spend much time with Maynard (truth be told, a guilty pleasure jazz hero of mine), and was soon snatched up by Art Blakey to join his Jazz Messengers. With Blakey, his composing skills flourished and found an audience, as he became the Messengers' main writer. His compositions are all over some of Blakey and the Messengers' greatest albums - "Lester Left Town" on 1960's The Big Beat, "Children of the Night" on 1961's Mosiac, and "Mr. Jin" on the 1965 masterpiece, Indestructible.
While playing with Blakey, he signed his own contract with Blue Note, putting out a string of solo albums that rest at the peak of 1960s jazz. Night Dreamer, Shorter's Blue Note debut, is under appreciated, but absolutely gorgeous. He recruited his fellow Jazz Messenger, Lee Morgan, to play trumpet, and took most of Coltrane's band (McCoy Tyner on piano, Elvin Jones on drums, and Reggie Workman on bass) to fill out the rest. Check out an alternate take of "Virgo" below which features a laid-back sax line from Shorter:
Wayne Shorter - "Virgo (Alternate Take)" - From Night Dreamer

His second record for Blue Note can easily be called a masterpiece, and is fascinating for a few reasons. For JuJu, Shorter decided to again recruit Coltrane's band - Tyner, Jones, and Workman - but left out the fellow front-line horn. He basically decided to make a Coltrane record while subbing for Coltrane himself. The Asian themes of the songs are a unifying presence, but it's hard not to close your eyes and think that you're hearing Coltrane. Shorter's sound is full of controlled fury, and his complex song structures are a perfect fit for a rhythm section that was used to being tested on a nightly basis playing Coltrane's complex rhythms (some would argue that Tyner, and not Shorter's lifelong friend, Herbie Hancock, complemented his sound and songs better). Check out the title track below and dig how Shorter channels Coltrane:
Wayne Shorter - "JuJu" - From JuJu

Up next for Shorter was a move away from Blakey's group to a seemingly predestined meeting with Miles Davis in his second great quintet. In my opinion, the greatest collection of jazz talent ever assembled in a 5-piece, Miles' second great quintet was a juggernaut - Miles on trumpet, Shorter on tenor, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. Before putting out any studio records with this group, the quintet toured maniacally, producing several Columbia live releases and many beautiful-sounding bootlegs. The track below is from 1967, but gives an indication on how forward-thinking this quintet was. Compare the Monk classic below to the studio version made by Miles' first great quintet with Coltrane on sax:
The Miles Davis Quintet - "'Round Midnight (Live)" - Live at Salle Playel, Paris - 11/6/67

While touring with the quintet, Shorter took time out to record another Blue Note masterpiece, Speak No Evil, with Hancock and Carter, Elvin Jones on drums, and Freddie Hubbard on trumpet. The album is much more "traditional" than much of what Miles' group was doing at the time, but is still breath-taking:
Wayne Shorter - "Dance Cadaverous" - Speak No Evil

To highlight a "forgotten" masterpiece from Shorter's catalogue, one needs look no further than 1966's Adam's Apple. Recorded with Hancock on piano, Reggie Workman back on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums, this album's claim to fame is not only in the collection of tunes, but in the first appearance of "Footprints", which would rise to the level of jazz standard through the years, mainly from its inclusion on the Miles Davis touchstone, Miles Smiles. The version here has no trumpet, allowing Shorter's voice to rise above the rest. Also presented is "502 Blues (Drinkin' and Drivin')", a beautiful laid-back, straight-forward blues tune that allows Shorter to really stretch out.
Wayne Shorter - "Footprints" - Adam's Apple
Wayne Shorter - "502 Blues (Drinkin' and Drivin')" - Adam's Apple

Shorter would stick with Miles through the quintet's standard 1960's output - E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Nefertiti, Sorcerer - and through many of Miles' early fusion masterpieces, such as In A Silent Way, Miles In The Sky, and the unparalleled Bitches Brew (to which Shorter contributed "Sanctuary" and "Feio"). While recording In A Silent Way, Shorter was reunited with his Maynard Ferguson band-mate, Joe Zawinul, with whom Shorter would go on to great international success as founding members and driving forces of Weather Report (who, for my money is incredibly cheesy with very little redeeming value - call me a jazz elitist if you must). Weather Report would go on to record 15 albums, tour the world, and indulge Shorter's more orchestral compositional leanings. After tiring of this band, he would return to making albums of his own (and made some fine solo albums while he was with Weather Report, such as his Brazilian detour, Native Dancer, in 1974). He was featured on albums by Joni Mitchell, and played a solo on the title track of Steely Dan's Aja. The 1980s was mostly a period of rest for Shorter, as he organized his personal life, and fully embraced Nichiren Buddhism (which he had started his love affair with in the mid-1970s).
The last two decades has seen Shorter embraced as the jazz legend that he truly is, triumphantly leading an acoustic quartet with Brian Blade on drums, John Patitucci on bass, and Danilo Perez on piano through a world-wide tour in the early '00s (and producing a beautiful live record, Footprints Live! in 2002). He never stopped playing with his life-long friend and fellow Buddhist Herbie Hancock (see Hancock's V.S.O.P., or Live Under the Sky recorded with a reunited lineup of Miles' second great quintet in the late 1970s with Hubbard subbing for Miles) and was on the front line of Hancock's Grammy-winning album of the year, River:The Joni Letters, a tribute to their long-time friend, Joni Mitchell and her work. The track below highlights the interplay of these two jazz giants.
Herbie Hancock - "Both Sides Now" - River: The Joni Letters

The title of this post is taken from something that Miles sagely said to Shorter soon before Miles' death. While visiting the aging master backstage at an August 1991 concert at the Hollywood Bowl, Shorter was grabbed on both shoulders by Miles and gruffly told, "You know, you need to be more exposed". When Miles died a mere month later, it would appear that he had passed the torch to Wayne Shorter as the greatest living jazz legend. It's a shame more of the lay public aren't more in tune with this prolific genius. Here's your chance to educate yourself, and make the spirit of the late, great Miles Davis proud.

Until next time, relax, put on some headphones, and dig the sounds of Wayne Shorter in all of his saxophone glory.