Wayne Shorter Interview

John Alexander · Post by **John Alexander** » 5 Feb 2013 1:52 am

http://www.npr.org/2013/02/02/170882668 ... he-unknown

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 5 Feb 2013 5:17 am

There aren't enough words for Wayne Shorter. If I never listened to another artist for the rest of my life besides Wayne, I would be OK with that.

From Newark, NJ--I grew up not far from him, yet world's away.

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 5 Feb 2013 6:22 am

There is also a nice article in the times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/arts/ ... .html?_r=0

It should be a great year for all things Shorter. His 80th birthday and the release of his first bluenote record in 40 years.

John Alexander · Post by **John Alexander** » 5 Feb 2013 7:36 pm

Thanks, both of you. I'm particularly pleased that the Times article alerted me to the recent Columbia/Legacy release of some of the 1969 bootleg recordings of Miles Davis in Europe, especially including the DVD of the Berlin concert, which has been available on YouTube and in other bootleg versions, but not good video quality.

robert kramer · Post by **robert kramer** » 6 Feb 2013 2:43 pm

Any questons?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER6yqzdyk78

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 6 Feb 2013 2:49 pm

Best band Miles ever had in my opinion.

John Alexander · Post by **John Alexander** » 6 Feb 2013 5:31 pm

Agreed - for me, that band and its recordings seem to subsist in some sort of transcendental, Platonic state.

I've also maintained a fascination with the "lost quintet" of 1969, probably because I heard it live at Shelly's Mann Hole, and then never heard anything like it for about 20 years until the bootlegs started to show up.

Although I'd been listening to Paul Bley for some years, I'd never actually seen anyone do anything like what Chick Corea was doing with the Rhodes with Miles in 1969.

Plus the sound of the Rhodes put it on a more equal footing with the horns - recall Bley's comment that in a band with horns, the piano solo was traditionally the time to go outside and have a cigarette.

Here's a preview of the DVD of the 1969 Berlin concert, with some comments by Chick. Shows how clear the video quality is compared to some other versions that have circulated on Ebay, etc.

http://www.milesdavis.com/us/news/exclu ... series-vol

Chris LeDrew · Post by **Chris LeDrew** » 6 Feb 2013 8:13 pm

I know it's a drop in the bucket of his vast recording history, but I LOVE Shorter's solo on the title track of Steely Dan's Aja. In the clip below, starting at 3:40, there's a short but informative piece about this solo. Shorter himself addresses the session in the clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9MusH-QijY

And here's a rather long but revealing article on how Steely Dan got Shorter (if you're up for it):

http://www.jazzwax.com/2011/07/how-stee ... orter.html

John Alexander · Post by **John Alexander** » 6 Feb 2013 11:39 pm

I forgot that Shorter was on Aja - that was great. Yeah, I enjoyed checking out the history in those links too - thanks.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 7 Feb 2013 8:46 am

John Alexander wrote:....
Although I'd been listening to Paul Bley for some years, I'd never actually seen anyone do anything like what Chick Corea was doing with the Rhodes with Miles in 1969.

Plus the sound of the Rhodes put it on a more equal footing with the horns - recall Bley's comment that in a band with horns, the piano solo was traditionally the time to go outside and have a cigarette.

...

Paul is pretty much my favorite pianist these days. He and Geri Allen.

John Alexander · Post by **John Alexander** » 7 Feb 2013 10:33 am

Mike Neer wrote:
Paul is pretty much my favorite pianist these days. He and Geri Allen.

Do you have a favorite Bley recording? For years I only had the Paul Bley Quintet (ESP), which I bought when I started high school. Much later I got into an obsession with trying to find the perfect Paul Bley recording - never found it but ended up with a lot of LPs and CDs.

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 7 Feb 2013 10:49 am

"Best band Miles ever had in my opinion."

Yes, my opinion too but every band of Miles had something special.

One of the least talked about quintets, but one of my all time favorites was the swinging quintet he had for a short period before Shorter/Hancock quintet:

Miles
Hank Mobley
Wynton kelly
Paul Chambers
Jimmy Cobb.

You can hear them on Live at the Blackhawk, Friday and Saturday night. This rarely talked about album remains one of my favorite Miles albums of all time because Miles was playing at his swinging peak and just blows the doors down.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 7 Feb 2013 11:26 am

I dig the George Coleman version of that group a lot, with Herbie, Ron, and Tony, too. That was the first taste of Miles that I ever got, the My Funny Valentine LP which is so phenomenal, and Four and More. I got so hooked on Herbie and Tony after hearing that, especially Stella By Starlight.

The Plugged Nickel recordings show Wayne in his finest form. Wayne has always been in my top 2 or 3 tenor players (along with Joe Henderson and Warne Marsh), but as a composer he is the tops.

I've heard Live At the Blackhawk, but I never owned it.

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 7 Feb 2013 12:36 pm

Mike,

You should check out that album: especially because of your love for piano: Wynton Kelly is phenomenal

I loved that Coleman group as well. I know Tony Williams had problems with Coleman and was lobbying Miles to get Shorter, but Coleman was always great.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 7 Feb 2013 2:29 pm

Bill McCloskey wrote:Mike,

You should check out that album: especially because of your love for piano: Wynton Kelly is phenomenal

I loved that Coleman group as well. I know Tony Williams had problems with Coleman and was lobbying Miles to get Shorter, but Coleman was always great.

Bill, for some great recordings of the Wynton Kelly trio (Cobb, Chambers), you've got to get the 2 releases with Joe Henderson: Four and Straight, No Chaser. Ir's an unusual match, but Joe's playing is sick on these CDs.

Here is the cut Four:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7Reuv0rnYA

John, I do not have a favorite Bley record, there are so many. I really, really like BebopBebopBebopBebop and Introducing Paul Bley and so many of the later recordings, but also the records with Jimmy Guiffre and Steve Swallow from the early 60s (Fusion and can't remember the other), and anything recorded with Gary Peacock, especially Paul Bley with Gary Peacock.

John Alexander · Post by **John Alexander** » 7 Feb 2013 7:50 pm

Mike Neer wrote: especially Paul Bley with Gary Peacock.

Of all the Paul Bley recordings I've heard, that one would probably be the one I'd choose to take with me to a desert island.

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 8 Feb 2013 8:20 am

Small detour on this thread: "Paul Bley with Gary Peacock."

It is funny how you can be influenced by a musicians public performances. I used to like Gary Peacock until I saw him with Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette at Carnegie Hall. After paying a pretty hefty ticket to get in, the audience was treated to a 15 minute lecture from Keith and Jack about not taking photos, not recording the concert (Jack actually got up from his drums, went to the mic and pointed out red lights he saw in the balcony, refusing to go on until they were extinguished), lecturing us about audience noise etc (this was carnegie hall and the audience was VERY well behaved).

I could never listen to any of these musicians again after that night. It was the most unprofessional concert of my life.

John Alexander · Post by **John Alexander** » 11 Feb 2013 10:56 pm

Bill that's an interesting account. I bet you weren't alone in being turned off by the things you described.

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 12 Feb 2013 4:25 am

I know I wasn't it. Jarrett did this about 2 weeks after I saw him perform: http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy/umbria/ ... ter-insult