 Wayne Shorter One of the most inventive composers and performers to emerge from the “academies” of Art Blakey and Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter’s career has spanned the heyday of bebop to the fusion invasion of Weather Report to his continuing creativity leading such sessions as Alergria and Beyond the Sound Barrier. Under the direction of all-star composer/arranger David Weiss, the eleven-piece Endangered Species ensemble pays tribute to Shorter with two performances at The Iridium in Manhattan, October 25-26. The band is augmented by special guests Wallace Roney (October 25th) and James Spaulding. Grachan Moncur III and Joe Chambers (October 26), who join a cast of young rising starts including Jeremy Pelt and Miguel Zenon. Endangered Species will pay tribute to Shorter by approaching his work from his perspective, as an ever-evolving body of work, and by performing music from all phases of his career, from the Miles Davis era (Fall) up to his latest compositions from Alegria and High Life.
A native of Newark, NJ, Wayne Shorter started saxophone studies in high school and graduated from New York University. He briefly played with Horace Silver while in the Army, then Maynard Ferguson following his discharge, before starting a five-year stint with Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually served as music director. In 1964, he replaced John Coltrane in Miles Davis’ new quintet, which also featured Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Of Shorter’s contributions, Davis said that he “brought in a kind of curiosity about working with musical rules. If they didn't work, then he broke them, but with musical sense; he understood that freedom in music was the ability to know the rules in order to bend them to your own satisfaction and taste." Hancock added, “Wayne was one of the few people who brought music to Miles that didn't get changed." Shorter played on a number of the Miles Davis’ recordings of the mid 60s-1970, including the first fusion albums, In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, the latter recordings marking Shorter’s new emphasis on soprano sax. During this period with Davis, Shorter also recorded with his own ensembles, including Blue Note issues Juju and Speak No Evil, and as a sideman for such notables as Hancock, Donald Byrd, McCoy Tyner, Grachan Moncur III, Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan. In 1970, Shorter joined forces with keyboardist Joe Zawinul to form the famed fusion band, Weather Report, maintaining the band through a variety of personnel changes through the mid 1980s. Meanwhile, he also continued with his own performing and recording projects, including Native Dancer, recorded with Joni Mitchell and Steely Dan, and toured with the “Davis alumni” band VSOP. He also appeared as a 50s saxophonist in the film, Round Midnight. Well into the 90s, Shorter continued with various fusion projects (including work with Carlos Santana), recordings with Joni Mitchell and Herbie Hancock, and finally his own solo projects, High Life which earned the 1997 Grammy for Contemporary Jazz album. His current band came together in 2000 (pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade), playing new and reimagined original compositions and releasing Footprints Live (2002) and Beyond the Sound Barrier (2005), the latter receiving a 2006 Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.  David Weiss Winner of the prestigious Chamber Music America Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project: New Works Creation and Presentation grant and Downbeat Critics “Rising Star Arranger” award, David Weiss studied trumpet at North Texas State University before returning to his native New York City to play with Jaki Byard, Frank Foster and Jimmy Heath. In addition to presenting young up-and-coming artists like Winard Harper at after-hours jams, Weiss formed a band with Craig Handy and played with Roy Hargrove, Clifford Jordon, Mulgrew Miller, Jeff Watts, Terence Blanchard, Benny Green, and Billy Hart. His arranging skills began attracting attention, and he soon was getting work on the recordings of such artists as Abbey Lincoln, Phil Woods (Alto Legacy) and a Rashaan Roland Kirk Tribute (Haunted Melodies), and as arranger for a series of tributes to great trumpeters at Birdland. Weiss formed the New York Jazz Composers Octet in 1996 (as trumpeter,composer and arranger), described in the New York Times as “the sound of the new jazz mainstream.” Two acclaimed recordings from this ensemble led to the Chamber Music America project. Weiss continues to tour with the octet, his own sextet, and Freddie Hubbard.  Wallace RoneyİAndrea Canter The Iridium Jazz Club is located at 1650 Broadway (at 51st Street); (212)582-2121 www.iridiumjazzclub.com; sets at 8 and 10 pm.
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Thursday, 08 January 2009
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