![\"Wayne-Shorter-Issue-No25\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Wayne-Shorter-Issue-No25.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nThe trailblazing saxophonist waxes philosophical about the future of jazz<\/b><\/p>\n
By Jeff Tamarkin\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Those who\u2019ve heard Wayne Shorter blow a solo know the legendary jazz saxophonist seems to reside in a world of his own creation. Burrowing deep inside of a melody, he finds a nugget that intrigues him, grabs it and runs with it\u2014the music twisting, turning, climbing, falling and ultimately journeying to a place far from where it began \u2026 or perhaps finding its way back.<\/p>\n
A conversation with Shorter often takes a similar path. Ask a question and he may start with a direct response, but before long the answer will likely become elaborate, layered, convoluted.<\/p>\n
The Newark, N.J., native may be perplexing, but he\u2019s at once brilliant, original and endearing. And his abilities as player, composer and innovator remain incontestable.<\/p>\n
At 79, Shorter is one of the last of a breed of jazz giants who reconfigured the genre in the 1960s and \u201970s and singlehandedly spawned new jazz movements along the way. And he\u2019s far from done: Formed in 2000, the Wayne Shorter Quartet\u2014with pianist Danilo P\u00e9rez, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade, each titans\u2014remains one of the most inventive and incendiary in jazz today.<\/p>\n
With that knowledge, Don Was, president of Blue Note Records, signed Shorter, reuniting legendary label and musician after more than four decades. Shorter\u2019s albums for Blue Note\u2014Juju<\/i>, Speak No Evil<\/i> and Adam\u2019s Apple<\/i>\u2014each became classics, but were only part of an unfolding story. As a member of Art Blakey\u2019s Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis\u2019 Second Great Quintet, and as a co-founder of fusion pioneers Weather Report in the \u201970s, Shorter established himself as one of the most respected names in jazz.<\/p>\n
Without a Net<\/i>, <\/i>the Wayne Shorter Quartet\u2019s new release, pulses with risk, power, wonder\u2014and, yes, some blemishes in the soaring brilliance. It isn\u2019t so much Shorter coming full circle or picking up where he left off, but rather pointing straight ahead, just as he always has.<\/p>\n
How did you re-sign with Blue Note?<\/b><\/p>\n
I had a talk with [former Blue Note president] Bruce Lundvall. He came to my house and we said, \u201cLet\u2019s keep in touch.\u201d Bruce was always the go-to guy on the mission of creativity. Then Don Was got on the mission train. I\u2019d met him when we were working in the studio with the Rolling Stones [Shorter played on 1997\u2019s Bridges to Babylon<\/i>].<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What\u2019s it mean to be back on the label?<\/b><\/p>\n
It means that what we once thought back in the \u201960s\u2014that jazz might be dead 30 years from now\u2014was wrong. That was when I was recording with Art Blakey and Lee Morgan, doing albums like [Blakey\u2019s] The Freedom Rider<\/i>. Art said, \u201cJazz might be dead. There\u2019s a concerted effort to kill it, so let\u2019s make this count.\u201d Even with all the resistance that faces all kinds of creativity, it seems young kids come out of nowhere, and they\u2019re into stuff that you can\u2019t believe.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Why release a live album?<\/b><\/p>\n
A live album is what life is. The studio is OK, but there\u2019s a certain amount of sterilization. When you\u2019re talking about jazz or the creative process, you try to be in the moment in any situation. I don\u2019t like doing take after take, especially when you\u2019re playing music without rehearsing. My saying now is, \u201cHow in the hell do you rehearse the unknown?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How else do you know what to play?<\/b><\/p>\n
Just get up there, maybe look at the paper, and start playing. Don\u2019t play what you see on the paper. What\u2019s behind that music? Look for the face, look for the dialogue, which is actually you. The music is like once upon a time\u2014what the hell are you going to say after \u201cOnce upon a time \u2026 \u201d?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Is each piece you write a story?<\/b><\/p>\n
Yeah\u2014or each piece is once upon a time. In other words, I\u2019m saying it in another language, but it\u2019s still once upon a time. In a movie you see the title, like Giant<\/i>, starring James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson. Giant<\/i> is like once upon a time. Or Lincoln<\/i>\u2014once upon a time. What is Daniel Day-Lewis going to do, besides being one of the greatest actors of this century? How is he going to tell it? We know the story of Lincoln, but there\u2019s another aspect, another dimension that comes out. That\u2019s why nothing ever begins or finishes. There\u2019s no such thing as a beginning or ending to me. When we step on the bandstand, we play\u2014the music just starts. The music is actually going on all the time, and the person who puts on the record is opening a door and hearing.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What does \u201cwithout a net\u201d mean to you?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
You can\u2019t be concerned with your musical credentials and everything you\u2019ve studied. You put your best foot forward and go out there naked. There\u2019s no such thing as a mistake.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When you write for the quartet, are you considering what each musician is capable of creating?<\/b><\/p>\n
When you\u2019re writing something, you\u2019re not anticipating what they\u2019re going to do. If Miles said anything at all, he\u2019d say, \u201cSurprise me.\u201d If someone was practicing, he\u2019d call them up and say, \u201cDon\u2019t rehearse. Don\u2019t practice. Surprise me.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What else did you learn from Miles?<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t rehearse\u201d was important, but it was more than a lesson. It was an important action. Some people step out and do something like that, and then they step back in as if they\u2019ve broken the rules, as if you have to ask permission. We like to be part of a new singularity in life where human beings for the first time take on the role of leaders and are not a mass of followers. I\u2019m not just talking about music when I say leaders\u2014I\u2019m talking about a doorman or a cab driver. Everyone\u2019s got to be a leader.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ever listen to your old recordings?<\/b><\/p>\n
No. I see them, but they have to serve more purpose than to be remembered. I really want to make sure the trajectory of the mission is true. It\u2019s true north. Your intention has to be the same.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Are you bothered that people only ask about Miles or Weather Report?<\/b><\/p>\n
You can\u2019t let it bother you when people say you were this or you were that. The true nature of something transcends superficial comments or attachments. In Buddhism, we say attachments can lead to suffering. If I were going to rely on what people say, I\u2019d be in the loony bin.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Is it important how you\u2019re remembered?<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s not important to be remembered. What surpasses the memory is the DNA and the intention that comes from a place of enlightenment. Your intention adds to the greater good of the eternity of life.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Do you always think philosophically?<\/b><\/p>\n
When I was 15 I got a book on metaphysics and said, \u201cHmm, everything\u2019s not in the book.\u201d Then I said, \u201cWhat is music for?<\/p>\n
What is anything for?\u201d I would look at my hand and say, \u201cWhat is this? Who are we?\u201d The answer is in the question. And if you cut off the \u201cion,\u201d the answer is in the quest.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What do you still want to accomplish?<\/b><\/p>\n
I just want to see the light on kids\u2019 faces. We did a concert on our last tour in Europe, and the place was packed. We went through the stage door to get to our cars, and the street was loaded with young kids waiting to take pictures and get an autograph. They were<\/p>\n
12 or 13. One was about 7, he came to me and said, \u201cMy name is Miles.\u201d So what we worried about in the \u201960s didn\u2019t happen. Some of these kids went up to Herbie [Hancock] and said, \u201cWe play classical music but we improvise, too.\u201d They didn\u2019t ask Herbie how to improvise or ask, \u201cWhat is jazz?\u201d They just said, \u201cWe improvise, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Is the future of jazz bright?<\/b><\/p>\n
The word jazz to me means being in the moment. Jazz is shorthand for the sound of the future. If you think studying music is going to take away your street groove, get out of here!<\/p>\n
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WAYNE SHORTER The trailblazing saxophonist waxes philosophical about the future of jazz By Jeff Tamarkin\u00a0\u00a0 Those who\u2019ve heard Wayne Shorter blow a solo know the legendary jazz saxophonist seems to reside in a world of his own creation. Burrowing deep inside of a melody, he finds a nugget that intrigues him, grabs it and runs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3805],"tags":[6206,6204,6164,6205,6203,5960],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9311"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9311"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9314,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9311\/revisions\/9314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}