Wayne Shorter dies aged 89
The legendary jazz saxophonist and composer has passed away at the age of 89, it has been confirmed
Last updated 2nd Mar 2023
The legendary saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter has passed away at the age of 89 in Los Angeles, California.
The news was confirmed by his publicist Alisse Kingsley,.
The 12-time Grammy Award-winning artist initially came to prominence in the late 1950s and early 1960s, first emerging through Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, before moving on to play in Miles Davis' Quintet, and then co-founding Weather Report.
Some of his compositions - such as 'Footprints', 'Speak No Evil', 'Fee Fi Fo Fum', and 'Black Nile'- have been immortalised by becoming jazz standards.
His long musical career and compositions helped traced the evolution of jazz during the 20th century - spanning hard bop, post bop, modal to jazz fusion and beyond.
Tributes are being made across the jazz world, including tributes from John McLaughlin, Soweto Kinch, Anita Baker, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and many more.
About Wayne Shorter:
Wayne Shorter was born on the 25th of August in 1933 in Newark, New Jersey, USA, having initially played clarinet, before switching opting for saxophone before he went to New York University in 1952.
Following graduating from university in 1952, Shorter had a two-year stint in the USA Army, where he crossed paths with pianist and composer Horace Silver.
It was after his service with the army that he joined Art Blakey's iconic outfit the Jazz Messengers, replacing fellow saxophonist Hank Mobley following an encounter with trumpeter Lee Morgan in 1959.
During his time with the Jazz Messengers, Shorter played alongside fellow greatest including Freddie Hubbard, Jymie Merritt, and Bobby Timmons, featuring on some of the group's best-known albums like The Big Beat (1960), Caravan (1963), and Indestructible (1966). Shorter would become the primary composer, musical director, and one of the longest-lasting members of the group, before his departure in late 1964.
It was in the mid-1960s where Wayne Shorter would begin his Blue Note Records career, starting with Night Dreamer (1964), JuJu (1964), Speak No Evil (1966), and The All Seeing Eye (1966). Most of his output with Blue Note comprised of his own compositions, and also featured fellow Blue Note stars Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, and Lee Morgan.
Shorter left the Jazz Messengers when Hanky Mobley, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, and Wynton Kelly left Miles Davis' "First Great Quintet" (which had initially comprised of John Coltrane, Red Garland, and Philly Joe Jones). Shorter would join forces with Davis, Herbie Hancock (keys), Tony Williams (drums), and Ron Carter (bass) to make up the "Second Great Quintet", which operated between 1964 and 1968. This setup would go on to create records such as Nefertiti (1968), Miles in the Sky (1968), Miles Smiles (1967), Filles de Kilimanjaro (1968), and E.S.P. (1965).
By the early 1970s, Shorter co-founded one of the fusion groups which he would become most associated with - Weather Report - alongside Miroslav Vitous and Joe Zawinul. He would perform with the group until his departure in 1986.
During his life, Shorter would also strike up a friendship and working relationship with Joni Mitchell, appearing on 10 of her studio albums, as well as working with others including Steely Dan and guitarist Carlos Santana.
Wayne Shorter's prolific contribution to composition and saxophone was marked with many accolades, including becoming an NEA Jazz Master in 1998), as well as lifetime achievements from both the Grammys (2014) and Thelonious Monk Institue of Jazz (2013), as well as receiving the Kennedy Center Honors in 2018.