Wayne Shorter Footprints Live! CD

FOOTPRINTS LIVE! was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

Recorded during a Western European barnstorming tour during the summer of 2001 (jazz festival season), Wayne Shorter and his star-studded quartet draw from his deep well of distinctive original material. When listening to the high level of kinetic and at times, fiery interplay on this disc, one is reminded of Miles Davis' famous quote to his band of the 1960's, "I pay you guys to rehearse on stage." In fact, as strong as Shorter's best tunes are, the gems of this disc are the improvised sections. These guys can go from a whisper to a roar and back again at the drop of a hat, sounding almost giddy with their facility. One of the amazing things about Wayne Shorter, like fellow tenor man Sonny Rollins, is how he found a different way to go in the '60s rather than becoming a Coltrane epigone as countless others did. On FOOTPRINTS LIVE!, we can hear the prodigious and fragrant fruits of his decidedly alternative and widely influential career.

Recorded live at Festival De Jazz, Vitoria-Gastiez, Spain; Jardins Palais Longchamps, Marseilles, France; and the Umbria Jazz Festival, Perugia, Italy in July 2001.

Personnel: Wayne Shorter (whistling, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Danilo Perez (piano); Brian Blade (drums).

Audio Mixer: Rob Griffin.

Recording information: Gastiez, Spain (07/14/2001-07/24/2001); Marseilles, France (07/14/2001-07/24/2001); Perugia, Italy (07/14/2001-07/24/2001).

Photographers: Ronnie Wright; Kate Garner.

Arranger: Wayne Shorter.

Personnel: Wayne Shorter (soprano & tenor saxophones); Danilo Perez (piano); John Patitucci (bass); Brian Blade (drums).

Entertainment Weekly (5/31/02, p.109) - "...With flexible and selectively fiery bandmates...Shorter explores assorted originals from his '60s glory stint with Miles Davis...structures are kept loose, open to the muse's touch..." - Rating: A-
Uncut (01/03, p.128) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...When it works, the excitement is considerable....There is some formidably searching music on this album..."
The Wire (9/02, p.72) - "...Brian Blade is superb in timing and conception on drums..."
Down Beat (7/02, pp.54-5) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...This music is a revisiting and a revelation..."
Mojo (Publisher) (6/02, p.116) - "...Shorter is in excellent shape, revisiting great tunes from his heyday...frighteningly good and hungrily played..."