Wayne Shorter was born in Newark, New Jersey on August 25, 1933. His love of music spawned at a young age, and his father encouraged him to take up clarinet when he was a teenager. He graduated from Newark Arts High School in 1952 before attending New York University, from which he graduated in 1956.
Shorter spent the next couple of years in the United States Army, where he played with Horace Silver, an American jazz musician; after his discharge, Shorter began playing with Canadian jazz musician Maynard Ferguson.
A True Music Man
In 1959, Shorter joined a band with American jazz drummer Art Blakey, eventually becoming the band’s musical director. But in 1964, Miles Davis successfully convinced Shorter to leave Blakey and join his band instead, which included Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. As part of this new group, Shorter spent a great deal of time composing, further expanding his musical expertise. Davis and Hancock would often comment on Shorter’s amazing skills as a composer, as well as a musician. This particular combination of jazz musicians is often regarded by critics as one of the most influential collaborations of artists in jazz music history.
Shorter exclusively played tenor saxophone until 1969, but afterwards also played soprano saxophone for another one of Davis’s albums. By 1970, Shorter left Davis to focus on solo work as well as a jazz fusion side-project, titled Weather Report, which he worked on with former-Davis keyboardist Joe Zawinul.
Stormy Weather
After Weather Report’s break-up in 1986, Shorter continued to pursue a musical career; he continued to tour and play shows with other artists, like Carlos Santana. He formed another quartet in 2000, with whom he received a number of accolades. Shorter received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Thelonious Monk Institute in 2013. and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. A documentary titled Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity is even expected to be completed in 2016.
Wayne Shorter worked tirelessly to become one of the most talented jazz musicians in the world. He collaborated with a number of huge names in the industry and won a number of impressive awards. His music is earthy and innovative, and he has become one of the most influential individuals from New Jersey.
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