Blue Note 53506 9

Wayne Shorter: tenor and soprano saxophone; Danilo Perez: piano; John Patitucci: bass; Brian Blade: drums
Recorded live October 18, 2014, at Stockholm Concert Hall, Stockholm Jazz Festival, Stockholm, Sweden

Disc One:
Zero Gravity to the 15th Dimension / Smilin’ Through / Zero Gravity to the 11th Dimension / Zero Gravity to the 12th Dimension / Zero Gravity – Unbound / Orbits / Edge of The World (End Title)

Disc Two:
Zero Gravity to the 90th Dimension / Lotus / She Moves Through The Fair

The start of this quartet in 2000 was a return to acoustic jazz for Shorter, who had previously been known for his work in jazz fusion. This new acoustic quartet freed Shorter, allowing him to keep innovating and exploring new musical areas.

Trying to write about the latter-day music of Wayne Shorter is like trying to describe the construction of a spider’s web.  While the web that the spider produces has geometry, weightlessness and structure, his web is the work of four spiders, all producing their own skeins.

The concert chosen by Shorter for ‘Celebration’ is one from Sweden.  He could have chosen work from many cities where they worked on tours around the world.

Listen carefully.  There are fragments from Shorter’s past, from the work with Art Blakey, from the suite of pieces that Shorter designed for the Miles Davis quintet, from the work with Joe Zawinul and Weather Report.

An indication of the way that Shorter’s playing has changed is to compare ‘Orbits’ from The Davis quintet in 1966 with the playing of the piece on this album.  The Davis quintet drives hard and the theme is obvious; in Sweden the theme only appears loosely and fitfully throughout the piece.  It is an abstract interpretation, elusive and allusive.

The stark opening to ‘Lotus’ eventually features all the group.  Shorter takes the lead with Patitucci punctuating.  Blade contributes repetitive figures.  The different musics coalesce building to a climax.  A newer piece, the track first appeared on ‘Emanon’.  The lotus is an important symbol in Buddhism, a religion that was at the core of Shorter’s beliefs.

Danilo Perez, the musician from Panama brings a great deal to the quartet. His many influences are clear in his playing and give richness to his improvising as well as proving to be a stimulus to the group.  He can bring in classical impressionism with West African rhythms and Latin American folk music. Perez is a believer in world music, music without boundaries. His work with Shorter is intense, surprising, completely free of cliche. His ebullient playing injects joy into the group’s work as he extends the reach of the music.

Brian Blade moves away from standard patterns He has the ability to listen and to respond without overwhelming the lines of the music. He values interactivity.  He has the lucidity to move from stillness to thunder with an intriguing intensity.  He also emphasises drama. He is a drummer who brings not just rhythm but percussion colour.

This above all, is a listening group.  If you have been lucky enough to see them you will have observed the concentration, the absorption. There was a balance of egos.  No one seems to be seeking to assert themselves.

Shorter eventually took the place of John Coltrane in the Miles Davis quintet of the1960s. Both the tenor players had an enormous influence after they left Davis.  Shorter’s long period with Weather Report to a certain extent nullified his progress as he dealt with the confines of fusion.  It was only when he formed the quartet in 2000 that his individuality shone through.  Coltrane eventually became so isolated as the complexity of his music grew. The clarity of Shorter’s more cerebral musical vision offers a way forward.

Initially, Shorter was influenced by Lester Young.  One of Shorter’s compositions was ‘Lester Left Town’.  Shorter’s later playing was closer to Young, and it is probable that Young would have enjoyed the work of the group.

In an interview Shorter revealed his approach to jazz. ‘The six years I was with Miles, we never talked about music. We never had a rehearsal, Shorter said. ‘Jazz shouldn’t have any mandates. Jazz is not supposed to be something that’s required to sound like jazz. For me, the word ‘jazz’ means, ‘I dare you.’ ‘This music, it’s dealing with the unexpected,’ Shorter added. ‘No one really knows how to deal with the unexpected. How do you rehearse the unknown?’

Blue Note promises more material in the future.