Wayne Shorter

Wayne Shorter
Shorter in 2012 at North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam
Shorter in 2012
at North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam
Background information
Born(1933-08-25)August 25, 1933
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedMarch 2, 2023(2023-03-02) (aged 89)
Los Angeles, California
GenresModal jazz, crossover jazz, post-bop, hard bop, jazz fusion, third stream
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
Instrument(s)Tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
Years active1958–2021
LabelsBlue Note, Columbia, Verve
Formerly of
Websiteweb.archive.org/web/20160330174015/http://www.wayneshorter.com/

Wayne Shorter (August 25, 1933 – March 2, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader.[1] Shorter came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary composer. In 1964 he joined Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet, and then co-founded the jazz fusion band Weather Report in 1970. He recorded more than 20 albums as a bandleader.

Many Shorter compositions have become jazz standards. His music has earned worldwide recognition, critical praise, universal commendation, and 12 Grammy Awards.[2] He was acclaimed for his mastery of the soprano saxophone since switching his focus from the tenor in the late 1960s and beginning an extended reign in 1970 as DownBeat's annual poll-winner on that instrument, winning the critics' poll for 10 consecutive years and the readers' for 18.[3] The New York Times music critic Ben Ratliff described Shorter in 2008 as "probably jazz's greatest living small-group composer and a contender for greatest living improviser".[4] In 2017, he was awarded the Polar Music Prize.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Larkin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Wayne Shorter | Artist". Grammy Awards. Recording Academy. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  3. ^ Down Beat Poll Archive. DownBeat.com. Retrieved June 2, 2013
  4. ^ Ratliff, Ben (December 3, 2008). "A Birthday Bash With a Harmonious Mix of Guests". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  5. ^ Chow, Andrew R. (February 7, 2017). "Sting and Wayne Shorter Win Polar Music Prize". The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2017.