Great WR clips, acman and pryso; thanks. Really good to revisit this group’s records after a surprisingly long time (for me) not spinning them. As I pointed out before, while I have always enjoyed their records they were never favorites and I am finding that my reaction to them is even more positive now.
Good post, nsp; and good observations re WR. I would only add that while Wayne Shorter does seem to take more of a back seat to Zawinal beginning with Mysterious Traveller, my hunch is that there is more “Wayne Shorter” in the post-MT mix than may seem obvious. For me one of the most insteresting things about Shorter’s career is how his playing became more and more economical as time passed; as if he were on a mission to say the most with the least number of notes. As you point out he used space in his solos very well; one single well placed and shaped note from him can be so expressive and say so much. Consummate artist that he is, I suspect that taking more of back seat to Zawinal was itself an artistic statement on his part and not the result of any “political” issue.
Miles with Wayne: my favorite jazz band of all time. Amazing Quintet with an amazing amount of musical synergy. For me, it just doesn’t get “better” than this as concerns level of musical interaction and intuition in jazz regardless of style. Tony Williams!!!
One of Shorter’s more unique recordings:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VFPIB4rFPIA
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fijliIceqJ4
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8DTTx_hb_Gs
Good post, nsp; and good observations re WR. I would only add that while Wayne Shorter does seem to take more of a back seat to Zawinal beginning with Mysterious Traveller, my hunch is that there is more “Wayne Shorter” in the post-MT mix than may seem obvious. For me one of the most insteresting things about Shorter’s career is how his playing became more and more economical as time passed; as if he were on a mission to say the most with the least number of notes. As you point out he used space in his solos very well; one single well placed and shaped note from him can be so expressive and say so much. Consummate artist that he is, I suspect that taking more of back seat to Zawinal was itself an artistic statement on his part and not the result of any “political” issue.
Miles with Wayne: my favorite jazz band of all time. Amazing Quintet with an amazing amount of musical synergy. For me, it just doesn’t get “better” than this as concerns level of musical interaction and intuition in jazz regardless of style. Tony Williams!!!
One of Shorter’s more unique recordings:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VFPIB4rFPIA
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fijliIceqJ4
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8DTTx_hb_Gs