Wayne Shorter Quartet -- a show worth seeing


They were at the Tampa Theatre tonight -- a wonderful venue built in the 1920s that looks like a Spanish courtyard inside. The performance was outstanding. John Patitucci on bass and Brian Blade on drums are exhilarating to watch -- very dynamic performers. Patitucci's speed and technique are phenomenal, while Blade is incredibly energetic for such an unprepossessing guy. Material was from the Footprints Live! disc, which is a reworking of some of Shorter's best-known pieces from the 60s -- all acoustic.

These guys are worth seeing if you get the chance.
swingman
Joebone....I simply answered Swingman's question regarding John Patitucci. If you noticed I recommened several releases that Brian Blade appears on as well as mentioning Danilo Perez on the Roy Haynes album.
If you wan to study the playing of Wayne Shorter go pick up the Mile Davis Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965. Inspirational to say the least.....Miles best band with Tony Williams, Ron Carter and Herbie Hancock.
Well, maybe I caught Shorter on an off-night last spring, but I'd have renamed the group, "The Danilo Perez Trio, with cameo appearances by Wayne Shorter." The trio was fantastic, however.
Thanks, Jla, sounds like I have some catching up to do. I appreciate the recommendations.

Joebone -- I wasn't implying that Patitucci carried the show, he was simply the member of the band that I was the least familiar with and I was curious to learn more about him. On this particular night, Blade was the most captivating to watch -- speed, control, emotion, and exuberance all wrapped up together.

Then again, there's a fair amount of stylistic tension from what I can see. Blade and Patitucci tended to play in a more "hot," attention-getting style, while Shorter and Perez were more on the cool side. I personally enjoyed the contrast, because I could spend some left-brain time trying to appreciate Shorter's compositions and the complexities of Perez's playing and then just switch over to letting the right brain enjoy the fun of trying to keep up with what Blade and Patitucci were doing. I don't mean to imply that they're not deserving of analytical listening also -- they are, and vice versa for appreciating Perez and Shorter. That's just how I found myself listening this particular night. I like complex things and I liked how they pulled all of this together and made something from it.

And I will admit that I'm still new enough to jazz that the quirks and egos of the performers have not yet started to grate on me. That may change, but hopefully not too much. Right now it's still fun and still drawing me in deeper.