Wayne Shorter

Saxophonist Wayne Shorter is one of the gifted handful of major jazz figures to emerge in the pre-fusion era who successfully made the transition to an electrified jazz-rock format. Over the course of his long career, he's proven himself a master at everything from hard bop to avant jazz. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Shorter got his start with Maynard Ferguson's band circa 1959; it was there that he first met future Weather Report bandmate, keyboardist Joe Zawinul. But before long he left Ferguson to play with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, with whom he cut more than 20 records between '59 and '64, composing many tunes for the band and eventually becoming its musical director. During his time with Blakey, Shorter also began his solo career, as well as working with Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, and Miles Davis. It was with Davis's legendary "second great quintet" that he'd make his biggest impact on jazz history, helping to push post-bop to the next level. Shorter's 1966 solo album The All-Seeing Eye found the sax man venturing into free jazz, and by 1969 he was joining Davis in making the jump to jazz rock on the groundbreaking albums In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. Like a number of Miles' late-'60s bandmates, Shorter took the lessons he learned and applied them to his own fusion band, forming Weather Report with fellow Miles alumnus Joe Zawinul. From 1970 to '86, Weather Report reigned as one of the world's most successful jazz-rock outfits, incorporating the talents of such world-class players as bassist Jaco Pastorius and percussionist Airto Moreira. All the while, Shorter kept exploring new vistas in his solo work, venturing into everything from avant jazz to Brazilian flavors. During and after his tenure with Weather Report, Shorter also made multiple forays into the rock/pop realm, playing on several Joni Mitchell albums, as well as appearing on the Steely Dan cut "Aja" and Don Henley's 1989 hit single "The End of the Innocence." Starting in 2002, Shorter began a long relationship with his "Footprints quartet," which included drummer Brian Blade, bassist John Patitucci, and pianist Danilo Perez, releasing several albums with them and showing that approaching octogenarian status didn't dull his artistic impulse. Wayne Shorter died on March 2, 2023 in Los Angeles, CA at the age of 89.