Wayne Shorter. Wayne Shorter…

You say that name to a certain group of musicians and music lovers and they shudder with awe in admiration of his greatness. You say that name to others, even musicians and the “musically savvy”, and they may scratch their heads “Hmmm, sounds familiar.” Then you say, when talking to that second set of folks “Well, of course you’ve heard of Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Art Blakey, right?” “Oh yeah, yeah, of course” they say. Then I say “Well, Wayne Shorter wrote for, played with and inspired those greats and MANY MANY OTHERS!”

Strangely, he’s not such a household name, even for those who know jazz artists, and yet he has been making music for 60 years and now, as the elder statesman of the jazz saxophone, is also one of the greatest, living, American composers. Period. No additional adjective of jazz or otherwise. He has surpassed genre and category.

I inherited a modest record collection (YES, LP’s!) from my late father, who was a jazz saxophonist. There is everything from Cannonball Adderley to The Crusaders to a whole heck of a lot of Weather Report, which of course was the seminal jazz/fusion band that Wayne Shorter formed with keyboardist Joe Zawinul. Even with the plethora of selections that iTunes offers, I’ve chosen to mostly listen to Weather Report on vinyl, from this particular collection, just because it feels like the right thing to do. It’s such a blast to go back to that sound and that time period and listen to what came before, in that format. I really think I got to know Wayne, just a little bit better, through these records.

But I digress. While it’s easy and even fun to be nostalgic, I’m quick to realize and appreciate that Wayne is truly a man of today, a man of tomorrow, and in fact next month! He’s never looking back, musically and personally, and here’s where Imani Winds walks into the right place at the right time!!

We were asked years back if we would be interested in playing a piece that Wayne Shorter would write for us that was commissioned by the La Jolla SummerFest, in La Jolla, CA. Needless to say the honor was without question and the answer was a quick yes! When we received the score to none other than Terra Incognita (pause for reaction, because we did!), we soon realized that the process of learning this piece would be like no other, and indeed that notion stayed true.

Although you can see when looking at the score that the music is quite complex, rhythmically and melodically, the LACK of tempo, dynamics and articulations markings was the most obvious revelation. Would we really be ALLOWED, if not encouraged, to come up with these things ourselves!? It’s kind of unheard of in classical music. You dig?! Well, it was all true. Wayne sanctioned this type of creation within an already highly composed and creative piece. He also mandated that not only do we interpret, but we bring something else, something undetermined into existence ever time we perform this piece. Incredible.  

The story thankfully doesn’t stop there! Wayne went on to ask if we would travel AROUND THE WORLD with him and his great quartet, performing together on some of the most awesome stages of the world, including Carnegie and Disney Halls! It was by far one of the great experiences of my musical life!

Back to Terra Incognita…Plain and simple, we knew that our next recording project had to include this original work. I am so very honored, on so many levels to have this in our repertoire and bring to the masses! But pass that, I’m more honored to be able to call Wayne Shorter my friend!

Wow! How cool is THAT!? 

[Monica]