Wayne Shorter on his 6 years with Miles: "We never had a rehearsal"

[N_Singh]

"never talked about music" How do you Rehearse the Unknown?"

http://www.npr.org/2013/02/02/170882...se-the-unknown

[Dedatolo]

To me Wayne Shorter is the greatest living composer.

[Wisdomview]

Two great American geniuses.

[polmico]

So I'm really looking forward to his new album. I guess I should order it already, but I'm trying to cut back on the new purchases. Ugh. I'll wait. I'll order it in a few months.

[gpeccary]

God Almighty! WOW!

[nosebone]

Love that dude.

[East New York]

...unlike "[that] sorry-ass cat, named Steve Miller."

[rcarlberg]

What's he have against Annette Funicello?

[Wisdomview]

Best line from the interview:

"Jazz shouldn't have any mandates. Jazz is not supposed to be something that's required to sound like jazz. For me, the word 'jazz' means, 'I dare you.' The effort to break out of something is worth more than getting an A in syncopation. This music, it's dealing with the unexpected, no one really knows how to deal with the unexpected. How do you rehearse the unknown?"

[gpeccary]

^^ Love that quote!!

[wideopenears]

Autobuy, as I said before.

Maybe the most progressive musician on earth today....

[Chuck AzEee!]

To me Wayne Shorter is the greatest living composer.

Sentiments echoed by many including myself.

[Polypet]

thanks for the link - nice to get to hear the new album, too. what a band

[Dave G]

I just saw him at Carnegie Hall on Friday night with Quartet + the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra ...
piles and piles of sheet music
next level stuff

[rapidfirerob]

Sounds great! I do find it hard to believe Miles never talked music or rehearsed at all, but who am I to say? Wayne is getting younger!

[yesstiles]

My favorite Wayne Shorter recordings are "Two-Faced," "Feio," and "Recollections."

[Oreb]

To me Wayne Shorter is the greatest living composer.

I wouldn't go that far personally, but I love much of his work. The Blue Note albums he did are IMO the gems of that fine label (just ever-so-slightly edging out the similarly luminous Andrew Hill).

Listening to things like the Plugged Nickel recordings, I find Wayne a much more interesting player than Miles.

[No Pride]

To me Wayne Shorter is the greatest living composer.

Though I don't believe in the concept of "greatest" when it comes to the arts, Wayne is certainly an amazing composer... and incredibly prolific!

Sounds great! I do find it hard to believe Miles never talked music or rehearsed at all, but who am I to say?

I think Miles talked about music if he didn't care for something somebody was playing, but I can believe that he didn't talk or rehearse much unless that sort of situation presented itself. A lot of the "heads" (the written parts before the improvisation) sounded loose, as if they were just reading it down for the first time... and I think that's what Miles wanted. Herbie Hancock did say that Miles encouraged all of his band members to move away from their "comfort zones" and stay away. Listening to his bands, it's easy to believe that was his advice to everyone!

The Blue Note albums he did are IMO the gems of that fine label (just ever-so-slightly edging out the similarly luminous Andrew Hill).

Listening to things like the Plugged Nickel recordings, I find Wayne a much more interesting player than Miles.

I agree about Shorter's Blue Note albums; fantastic stuff (which is not to say that his later albums on other labels weren't fantastic)! My personal fave from his Blue Note discog is "Juju."

Miles was never the strongest player in his bands imo. Not saying he couldn't play; he definitely could and he had an instantly identifiable style. But I think his real strength was more as a conceptual artist... and obviously as a savvy talent scout!

[Dana5140]

Man is 80 years old and still innovating!

[yesstiles]

My favorite Wayne Shorter recordings are "Two-Faced," "Feio," and "Recollections."

Woops, "Recollections" is a Joe Zawinul tune. I meant to say "Sweet Pea" from the Water Babies album.

[Enid]

It's all about listening to each other.. which is effortless when you play with musicians that have an extensive vocabulary. If they are experienced players..they will feel out your improvisation in a matter of seconds. Musicians that played with Frank Zappa could surely render what is required in a timely fashion. It's almost telepathic waves ...well? maybe that's a debate, but they often feed off each other without words. When I jam with Jazz musicians ..the feeling I get is defined as or maybe closely related to Gnosis. True Gnosis is a knowledge that is difficult to describe. It's when you feel something and cannot explain it through words. The average person experiences it and dismisses it as profound or too strange to indulge in for long periods of time. There are no words for it and no need for the musicians to communicate verbally. It channels through musicians naturally and the music is created.

[wideopenears]

For me, Wayne's new album (and his quartet, they've been together for some time now), have picked up where Miles great 60's Quintet left off.....it's a collective improvisation at such a high level of musicianship--but also with a huge amount of passion and energy. I just love this band. If you know the tunes, as they were conceived initially, what they're doing is just astounding.