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WAYNE SHORTER
JuJu/Odyssey Of Iska (reissue, 1965/1971)
Two key reissues highlight the significant scope of the saxophonist’s monumental career.
By Ana Gavrilovska
Jazz Odyssey: Wayne Shorter in the early ‘70s
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BLUE NOTE
9/10, 8/10
WAYNE SHORTER’s career contains virtually the entire history of the second half of 20th century jazz. He cut his teeth with Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers and eventually became the band’s musical director; he helped crystallise the emerging new sounds of Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet and often composed for Davis; and he co-founded the pioneering jazz fusion group Weather Report. Not only was he an absolute master of the saxophone (originally on the less common soprano, then switching his focus to tenor) but he also redefined jazz composition, penned a number of pieces that have since become beloved standards, and has won numerous awards, including several Grammys. He died at the age of 89 in 2023, but his spirit lives on in the music he composed and the exploratory outlook of the many musicians he influenced.