Wayne Shorter Alegria CD

New All-Acoustic Studio Album

Personnel: Wayne Shorter (arranger, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Robert Sadin (arranger); Chris Potter (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet);
Lew Soloff, Chris Gekker (trumpet); Bruce Eidem, Michael Boschen, Jim Pugh, Steve Davis (trombone); Marcus Rojas (tuba); John Clark, Stewart Rose (horns); Paul Dunkel (flute); Allen Blustine (clarinet, bass clarinet); Stephen Taylor (oboe, English horn); Frank Morelli (bassoon); David Garrett, Barry Gold, Gloria Lum, Daniel Rothmuller, Brent Samuel, Cecilia Tsan, Charles Curtis (cello); Danilo Perez, Brad Mehldau (piano); John Patitucci (bass); Brian Blade, Terri Lynne Carrington (drums); Alex Acuna (percussion).
ALEGRIA won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. "Sacajawea" won for Best Instrumental Composition.
Personnel: Wayne Shorter (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Brent Samuel, Gloria Lum, Barry Gold, David Garrett, Charles Curtis, Daniel Rothmuller, Cecilia Tsan (cello); Paul Dunkel (flute); Allen Blustine (clarinet, bass clarinet); Stephen Taylor (oboe, English horn); Frank Morelli (bassoon); Chris Gekker, Jeremy Pelt, Lew Soloff (trumpet); Jim Pugh, Papo Vasquez, Steve Davis, Bruce Eidem (trombone); Marcus Rojas (tuba); Stewart Rose (horns); Danilo Perez, Brad Mehldau (piano); Terri Lyne Carrington, Brian Blade (drums); Alex Acuña (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Clark Germain; Dave Darlington; Todd Whitelock; Robert Sadin.
Recording information: Avatar Studios, New York, NY; Burning Kite Studio; Cello Studios; Clinton Recording Studios; Sear Sound Studios, New York, NY.
Arranger: Wayne Shorter.
With 2002's Footprints Live, nearly two decades of false alarms about a Wayne Shorter "comeback" finally gave way to the real thing -- at least to many critics who welcomed his return to highly cerebral acoustic post-bop. Yet the follow-up, Alegria -- apparently Shorter's first all-acoustic studio album as a leader since 1967 -- is where Shorter really starts to get creative again. The rhythm section from Footprints Live -- pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade -- is intact on three tracks. On others, Brad Mehldau -- with his very different conception of sound -- is the pianist, Terri Lyne Carrington subs on drums, Alex Acuna adds percussion, and new, unusual timbres are supplied by a wind/brass ensemble. As on Footprints Live, Shorter revisits some old tunes from his relative youth, but not nearly in the same way. In "Orbits," which was given a racetrack post-bop run by the Miles Davis Quintet, Shorter slows it way, way down, virtually decontructing the tune, backed by a quizzical chart for winds and brass. Likewise, "Angola" and "Capricorn II" are altered nearly beyond recognition. Indeed, at this point in the 21st century, it was fascinating to see both Shorter and his former Davis bandmate, Herbie Hancock, radically reinterpreting their past, working separately yet often using the same bassist and drummer (Patitucci and Blade) and recording for the same label. Yet, the core message of this album is that Shorter was ready to move on to different things, drawing material from almost anything that caught his attention while soloing in top form on tenor and soprano saxes. With a wild soprano wail, Shorter leads off the CD with his new, absorbing boogaloo "Sacajawea," one that soon morphs into searching, nearly free jazz, with a magisterial solo from the composer. At last, someone in jazz chose to deal with both tunes from Leroy Anderson's Spanish-flavored light classical masterpiece "Serenata" rather than just the lush second subject -- and Shorter decorates them with a complex featherweight orchestration. Though Acuna's bongos pop away in the foreground, Shorter does maintain the melancholy feeling of the familiar aria from Villa-Lobos' "Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5," with cellist Charles Curtis eloquently stating the tune, until he destabilizes things in the middle of the track. As heEntertainment Weekly (5/2/03, p.71) - "...Shorter's tenor sax sounds breathtaking, and his soprano horn exudes bittersweet joy..." - Rating: A
JazzTimes (05/03, pp.109-110) - "...ALEGRIA, in the scope of its ambition and the virtuosity of its execution, is a genuine advance upon the widely praised FOOTPRINTS-LIVE...A series of examples of Wayne Shorter's extraordinary facility and cleverness..."
Vibe (4/03, p.177) - 4 discs out of 5 - "...Far-reaching interpretations,...ranging from a popular Spanish song to a traditional Celtic folk tune..."
Mojo (Publisher) (4/03, p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...ALEGRIA continues the welcome return of a jazz giant....His playing and writing still have much to say to us all..."