Celebration, Volume 1 (Blue Note)
Wayne Shorter
Released August 23, 2024
JazzTimes 2024 Year in Review
The Guardian 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2024
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About:
Blue Note Records has released Celebration, Volume 1, the first in a series of archival releases that the legendary saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter curated before he passed away in 2023. This thrilling 2014 live recording captured Shorter’s acclaimed quartet with pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade at the Stockholm Jazz Festival in Sweden. The intrepid set includes some of the band’s favorite vehicles of exploration including “Zero Gravity,” “Smilin’ Through,” “Orbits,” “Lotus,” and “She Moves Through The Fair,” as well as a stunning version of “Edge of the World (End Title),” a theme by composer Arthur B. Rubinstein from the 1983 film WarGames.
Shorter’s longtime Quartet bandmates spoke with Blue Note President Don Was for a very special episode of “First Look.” The musicians reminisce about the experience of being in Shorter’s orbit during their two-decade run as one of the greatest modern jazz bands of the 21st century, and the many musical and life lessons they learned from the Jazz legend.
“In the fall of 2022, Rob Griffin started sending a lot of unreleased music for Wayne to sort thru,” writes Carolina Shorter in the album’s liner notes. “He started listening around the clock. I’d be doing something around the house, talking on the phone, doing work and he’d yell ‘Carolina! You’ve got to come and hear this shit! Check out what these guys are doing!’ Wayne made detailed notes – some of them are reprinted on this album jacket.”
“When he heard the Stockholm concert, he said ‘this is the album!,’” she continues. “Then he started listening to more things and, over time, realized that it was going to have to be more than one record. He originally wanted to call the collection Unidentified Flying Objects – thinking of the notes everyone played as being UFOs! In January 2023, when he was hospitalized for the last time, he continued picking tracks and laying out the albums. His ‘Never Give Up’ spirit, which underlines his entire mission, was stronger than ever and he was excited to release more music. It was only in the last 10 days of his life that he realized he was not going to be around to see it to fruition. He started feeling the urgency of celebrating life and decided to change the name of the collection to Celebration. I said ‘Yes Wayne! Let’s celebrate!!! That’s what it should be called. A celebration!’”
Blue Note is also celebrating Shorter’s legacy with several reissues of his classic albums including a Tone Poet Vinyl Edition of Odyssey of Iska (1970), a Classic Vinyl Edition of JuJu (1964), and a Blue Note Authorized Dealer exclusive blue vinyl reissue of Speak No Evil (1964) which is available at participating independent record stores. Celebration, Volume 1 is available now on limited edition Blue Note Store exclusive color vinyl, black vinyl, CD, and digital.
Track Listing:
1. Zero Gravity to the 15th Dimension (Wayne Shorter, Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Brian Blade) 11:44
2. Smilin’ Through (Arthur A. Penn) 8:57
3. Zero Gravity to the 11th Dimension (Wayne Shorter, Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Brian Blade) 2:06
4. Zero Gravity to the 12th Dimension (Wayne Shorter, Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Brian Blade) 2:01
5. Zero Gravity – Unbound (Wayne Shorter, Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Brian Blade) 3:36
6. Orbits (Wayne Shorter) 9:50
7. Edge of The World (End Title) (Arthur B Rubinstein) 6:59
8. Zero Gravity to the 90th Dimension (Wayne Shorter, Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Brian Blade) 3:22
9. Lotus (Wayne Shorter) 19:34
10. She Moves Through The Fair (Wayne Shorter) 20:17
Personnel:
Wayne Shorter: tenor and soprano saxophone
Danilo Perez: piano
John Patitucci: bass
Brian Blade: drums
Recorded live October 18, 2014 by Rob Griffin and Nicolas Poitrenaud at Stockholm Concert Hall, Stockholm Jazz Festival, Stockholm, Sweden
Assisted by Olivier Chambin
Re-Recorded and Mixed by Rob Griffin at AcousTech, Casco Viejo, Panama
Mastered by Harold LaRue at Harold LaRue Mastering, Houston, Texas
Produced by Wayne Shorter and Don Was
Review:
The start of this quartet in 2000 was a return to acoustic jazz for Shorter, who had previously been known for his work in jazz fusion. This new acoustic quartet freed Shorter, allowing him to keep innovating and exploring new musical areas.
Trying to write about the latter-day music of Wayne Shorter is like trying to describe the construction of a spider’s web. While the web that the spider produces has geometry, weightlessness and structure, his web is the work of four spiders, all producing their own skeins.
The concert chosen by Shorter for ‘Celebration’ is one from Sweden. He could have chosen work from many cities where they worked on tours around the world.
Listen carefully. There are fragments from Shorter’s past, from the work with Art Blakey, from the suite of pieces that Shorter designed for the Miles Davis quintet, from the work with Joe Zawinul and Weather Report.
An indication of the way that Shorter’s playing has changed is to compare ‘Orbits’ from The Davis quintet in 1966 with the playing of the piece on this album. The Davis quintet drives hard and the theme is obvious; in Sweden the theme only appears loosely and fitfully throughout the piece. It is an abstract interpretation, elusive and allusive.
The stark opening to ‘Lotus’ eventually features all the group. Shorter takes the lead with Patitucci punctuating. Blade contributes repetitive figures. The different musics coalesce building to a climax. A newer piece, the track first appeared on ‘Emanon’. The lotus is an important symbol in Buddhism, a religion that was at the core of Shorter’s beliefs.
Danilo Perez, the musician from Panama brings a great deal to the quartet. His many influences are clear in his playing and give richness to his improvising as well as proving to be a stimulus to the group. He can bring in classical impressionism with West African rhythms and Latin American folk music. Perez is a believer in world music, music without boundaries. His work with Shorter is intense, surprising, completely free of cliche. His ebullient playing injects joy into the group’s work as he extends the reach of the music.
Brian Blade moves away from standard patterns He has the ability to listen and to respond without overwhelming the lines of the music. He values interactivity. He has the lucidity to move from stillness to thunder with an intriguing intensity. He also emphasises drama. He is a drummer who brings not just rhythm but percussion colour.
This above all, is a listening group. If you have been lucky enough to see them you will have observed the concentration, the absorption. There was a balance of egos. No one seems to be seeking to assert themselves.
Shorter eventually took the place of John Coltrane in the Miles Davis quintet of the1960s. Both the tenor players had an enormous influence after they left Davis. Shorter’s long period with Weather Report to a certain extent nullified his progress as he dealt with the confines of fusion. It was only when he formed the quartet in 2000 that his individuality shone through. Coltrane eventually became so isolated as the complexity of his music grew. The clarity of Shorter’s more cerebral musical vision offers a way forward.
Initially, Shorter was influenced by Lester Young. One of Shorter’s compositions was ‘Lester Left Town’. Shorter’s later playing was closer to Young, and it is probable that Young would have enjoyed the work of the group.
In an interview Shorter revealed his approach to jazz. ‘The six years I was with Miles, we never talked about music. We never had a rehearsal, Shorter said. ‘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.’ ‘This music, it’s dealing with the unexpected,’ Shorter added. ‘No one really knows how to deal with the unexpected. How do you rehearse the unknown?’
Blue Note promises more material in the future.
Jack Kenny (Jazz Views)
