Wayne Shorter Gets Latin-Jazz Tribute
There’s been a lot of genius to come out of Newark: The Four Seasons, Gloria Gaynor, Ice-T, Sarah Vaughan, Fred Schneider of The B-52s, “Mighty” Max Weinberg, Whitney Houston, Connie Francis, rapper Shaquille O’Neal, Paul Simon, Woody Shaw, Queen Latifah, Jerry Lewis and Jerome Kern for starters. Then there’s Wayne Shorter, who revolutionized jazz with Miles, and then revolutionized jazz again with Weather Report. He died March 2, 2023, at 89.
He came out of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1959 only to join Miles Davis’s second great quintet in 1964. Always searching, seeking the perfect note, he started the groundbreaking jazz-fusion Weather Report in 1970 before recording 20 albums as a leader. His songs have become standards. His 12 Grammy Awards are the least of his accomplishments. He played tenor and soprano sax with equal aplomb. Ben Ratliff, writing in the 12/3/08 New York Times, called him “probably jazz’s greatest living small-group composer and a contender for greatest living improvisor.”
Enter Dan Moretti & Brazilia. Their Celebrating Wayne Shorter: Live At The Pump House (Roots Grooves Records) takes eight classic Shorter compositions and stretches them out into hot fiery Latin-Jazz with plenty of percolating percussion. Who knew Wayne would wow under such circumstances?
Wayne Shorter
Rhode Island saxophonist-composer-educator Moretti leads a band well-versed in his vision: Peruvian bassist Oscar Stagnaro, Ukrainian pianist Maxim Lubarsky, Columbian percussionist Ernesto Diaz and Boston drummer Steve Langone. They make “Black Nile” into a mambo, “Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum” into a cha-cha, “Speak No Evil” into a samba and “Night Dreamer” into a reggae and “Oriental Folk Song” into tricky 6/8 time.
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