Wayne Shorter
Tenor Sax
March 2, 2023 (Age 89) died
August 25, 1933 Birthday
Newark, New Jersey, U.S. Birthplace
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About
Wayne Shorter was a Grammy winning jazz saxophonist and composer. With a career spanning over 50 years he was one of the most influential musicians in the genre. Shorter rose to prominence as the tenor saxophonist and eventually musical director of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s he joined Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet where he was a prolific composer contributing tunes such as "E.S.P" and "Footprints." In 1970 he left Davis to co-found the ground breaking jazz-rock fusion group The Weather Report. Shorter played with The Weather Report until the mid-1980s and continued working on both solo and group projects throughout the 1990s. In 2000 he formed the Wayne Shorter Quartet and continued to perform with them until health issues forced him to stop.
Trivia
During the Weather Report Years Shorter played the soprano saxophone almost exclusively. In 2014 Wayne Shorter was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spaulding and Frank Gehry are currently working on developing an original opera titled Iphigenia scheduled to open in 2021.
Early Life
Wayne Shorter was born in New Jersey in 1933. He began playing the clarinet at age 16 but switched to the tenor saxophone before starting classes at NYU. He graduated from NYU with a degree in music in 1956 and briefly played with Horace Silver before being drafted into the army. Following his service Shorter played with Maynard Ferguson's band before joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1959.
Wayne Shorter Solos
1966
Tenor Sax solo - Adam's Apple - 1966
4/4 boogaloo in A♭ major at 174 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - 502 Blues (Drinkin' and Drivin') - 1966
3/4 waltz in A minor at 122 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - 502 Blues (Drinkin' and Drivin') - 1966
3/4 waltz in A minor at 127 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - El Gaucho - 1966
4/4 latin in F major at 187 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Footprints - 1966
3/4 waltz in C minor at 136 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Teru - 1966
4/4 ballad in F major at 53 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Chief Crazy Horse - 1966
4/4 swing in E♭ major at 141 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - The Collector - 1966
4/4 swing in E minor at 267 BPM
1964
Tenor Sax solo - Witch Hunt - 1964
4/4 swing in C minor at 136 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum - 1964
4/4 swing in C major at 105 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Dance Cadaverous - 1964
3/4 waltz in B major at 122 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Speak No Evil - 1964
4/4 swing in C minor at 142 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Infant Eyes - 1964
4/4 ballad in B♭ major at 50 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Wild Flower - 1964
3/4 waltz in B♭ major at 161 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Dance Cadaverous - 1964
3/4 waltz in B major at 126 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - JuJu - 1964
3/4 waltz in B major at 174 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Deluge - 1964
4/4 swing in E♭ minor at 116 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - House of Jade - 1964
4/4 swing in C minor at 67 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Mahjong - 1964
4/4 latin in F minor at 172 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Yes or No - 1964
4/4 swing in C major at 253 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - Twelve More Bars to Go - 1964
4/4 swing in B♭ major at 113 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - JuJu - 1964
3/4 waltz in B major at 179 BPM
Tenor Sax solo - House of Jade - 1964
4/4 swing in C minor at 68 BPM