Customer Reviews

Alegria

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One thing you have to say about Miles Davis, he could pick a sax player.......
From the days when the 60's Davis quartet came together to today, one of the most enduring figures in jazz has been Wayne Shorter. There is little that he touches, be it as a composer or performer, that doesn't have his sense of grace. There is such power and devotion in his music. In so many spiritual ways, as well as from an historical perspective, he is indeed the rightful successor to the spiritual quest begun by John Coltrane.

Last year, Shorter released a remarkable live album, FOOTPRINTS. He returns in 2003 with the sublimely soulful ALEGRIA, that features the same basic line up of Danila Perez, John Patitucci, Brain Blade and Alex Azuna. Terri Lynne Carrington and Brad Mehldau and a host of remarkable chamber players round out the cast on this stirring release. The hypnotic element in Shorter's playing is at its most powerful in interpretations of "Bachiabas Brasileiras No 5", and in his dramatic reworking of "Angola". Rhythms percolate, solos appear and fade into the ether, the human soul is transported.
From the opening "Sacajawea" to the closing "Capricorn", the dark mysteries and compelling flights of a man who has lived much, suffered unspeakable loss , and has remained philosophical is on full display. Never has the traditional Irish Gaelic air "She Moves Through The Fair" been imbued with such mystery and passion. Shorter switches in most pieces from tenor to soprano sax, and he engages in a very Socratic dialogue in the course of these changes: this is not simply overdubbing, this is a dialectic of approaching the meaning in the music from 2 very different questioning, questing perspectives, and the questioning undergone here leaves open so much ground for further contemplation.
The music swings with African and Cuban undercurrents, the occasional Gaelic haunt, and in all cases a sense of absolute commitment to Music itself. You willbe hard pressed to find a more satisfying release this year in all of Music. Critics are comparing this to SKETCHES OF SPAIN. It is not as heavily orchestrated, but it has that same mystic fascination with the dark night of the soul where communion with something very much more fundamental than human temporal existence is at work.

The first thing one is struck by is the wild eclecticism of the material. There are four rather lesser known Shorter compositions, "Sacajawea," from I don't know where; "Angola," from Soothsayer; "Orbits," I also don't know where this came from; and "Capricorn II," a Miles Davis-era number. There is one rather famous classical number, "Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5," by Heitor Villa-Lobos. There is one light classical number, "Serenata," by the popular American classic-lite composer, Leroy Anderson, who wrote such high school band staples as "Sleigh Ride," "The Syncopated Clock," and "The Waltzing Cat." And there is a number, "Vendiendo Alegría," by Milka Himel and Joso Spralja, probably a folk-styled composition. I do not know who Milka Himel is (was?), but Joso Spralja is (was?) a Canadian immigrant from Dalmatia who made several popular recordings of a wide variety of world folk musics. Then there is a remarkable rendering of a 12th Century Carol and a very pleasant reading of "She Moves through the Fair," a traditional folk song.

On its face, this doesn't look like a particularly promising musical slate. But wait a minute. We're talking Wayne Shorter here, one of the greatest, most honored, and highly recorded composers in the history of jazz music. Shouldn't we trust his compositional acumen to uncover somewhat unlikely gems, polish them up, and place them in entirely appropriate settings? Yes, we should. Link him up with some of the premier jazz artists on the scene today, and with the glorious conducting talents of Robert Sadin, find him in absolute top form on both soprano (his main ax) and tenor saxophone, and you've got quite a record.

Despite some rather elaborate and, one must say, very pleasing sound palettes, including as many as fourteen players on one number, there is a basic band providing the backbone to this music: Shorter, soprano and tenor sax (sometimes overdubbed), John Patitucci, bass, Danilo Perez or Brad Mehldau, piano, and Brian Blade or Terri Lynn Carrington, drums. It's hard to say who's better--Perez or Mehldau on piano or Blade or Carrington on drums. If I had to choose, I think I'd pick Perez and Carrington. The beginning cut, a number near the middle, and the last cut feature the quartet of Shorter, Patitucci, Perez, and Blade (with Shorter overdubbing on two of the three selections). These numbers seem to function as a kind of anchor for the more elaborate flights of fancy, perhaps intentionally referencing the small groups of the Blue Note era.

On the first few listens, nothing particularly revolutionary seems to be happening on Alegría; this is certainly not the same kind of thing Dave Douglas is doing on Freak In, for example As one familiarizes oneself with this remarkable music, little things begin to jump out, such as the truly amazing percussion stylings of Alex Acuña (whom I just can't say enough about), especially on the mindblowing world-music treatment of the 12th Century Carol, the gloriously elegiac reading of the Villa-Lobos piece, and the thoroughly modern and pleasing rendition of "Angola," sounding more mysterious and "African" than ever before. The quirky logic and persuasive power of Shorter's soloing also begins to reveal itself after several listens. In the end, one begins to realize that Shorter is doing something just as revolutionary as Douglas or The Bad Plus--taking "conventional" music and imbuing it with his own special magic, thus transforming the quotidian into the exceptional. Indeed, Shorter's magic may be even deeper that Douglas's, because he's working with, ahem, "baser" materials.

Really, the more I listen to this, the more astounded I am. This is pure magic. This is the album of a lifetime--what we've all been waiting for Wayne Shorter to make but which he really hasn't up till now. Well, I'm here to tell you, the wait is over. Welcome to Wayne's world.

A new studio album by Wayne Shorter is always a sensation. The last one was released in 1995 ( High Life, a Marcus Miller production), so how does Wayne sound in the new millennium?
Well, in a way, pretty much the same as since the 80's, insofar as he employs the same kind of compositional approach to music. This can be summarized as an architectural or maybe rather, a structural, approach, which introduces elements of the modern concert music into - well, what's left of Jazz. Wayne Shorter has a very unique and immediately recognizable way of doing this.
Incidentally, it's the first all-acoustic recording from him since back in the 60's. This is not really such an important point, even though there are people who would like to segregate the world into acoustic and deplorable non-acoustic - nonsense! It does, however, give the music a coloring more suitable to Wayne's world than on those 80's records with their plastic drums, which are mainly responsible for the way those records ( Atlantis, Phantom Navigator and Joy Rider) have aged and now sound dated, despite their great moments.
Wayne Shorter still plays very well and a lot here. To me, he is the best sax player alive. And the songs? There are new and older compositions by Wayne; the older ones are practically de- and reconstructed, you can hardly recognize them, quite a thrill for those who know the tunes from before. And there are compositions from other sources, like a 12th century carol (also completely deconstructed). Wayne Shorter certainly has strong Jazz roots, but this means little as far as his present musical interests are concerned. This free mind is a rare thing to be found anywhere, especially in the segregated world of American Jazz. And it's one of the reasons, which make Alegria so special.
The opening track is the least palatable to me: kind of hectic, much too constructed, far too intelligent for me. After that, the album finds its pace. The majority of the tracks tend to run at medium or slow speed. And that is good for the music and for the listener, for the compositions are all rather complicated, and at the slower pace, one can grasp the music and therefore appreciate it. Wayne plays both the soprano and the tenor saxes, sometimes at the same time, arrangements as well as solos, and this works better here maybe than ever before. The musicians: we are listening to a small orchestra here, and even though there are sometimes small solos, they are not what this music is about; it's not opera but a narrative, so to speak.
All in all, Alegria is a highly welcome production.

If you're looking for finger-snapping, straightahead swing, this might not be for you. But wow... This is just music of the top quality, irrespective of genre. Everything on this album is cutting edge and beautiful; there are no "background parts." I was fortunate enough to see Wayne Shorter's amazing quartet live this past autumn. Few groups in music, let alone jazz, have the ability to cut through all extraneous "stuff" and get straight to the music. The quartet is intact on three numbers, but the rest is simply fascinating; outstanding writing, and playing of a supernatural concentration.

Wayne Shorter can never be accused of playing it safe. His collection of recordings dating back to the early 60's has been some of the most creative music recorded. His long evolution as a solo artist has been interupted twice, to play vital roles in ground-breaking musical collaborations with Miles Davis and his wonderful participation in Weather Report. If you chart back as far as "Speak No Evil" up through the magical "Native Dancer" to his last solo recording "Footprints Live!", you will see a very colorful artist with a wide palette of musical ideas. Using various textures and themes to layout his present ideas, "Alegria" is an astonishing work of beautiful music.

"Alegria" is blessed with compositions that offers the listener various textures and colors with each of the ten tracks carrying their own unique signatures. "Sacajawea" could easily be named "Son of Native Dancer" with blended Tenor & Soprano saxes that create a beautiful woven sound that allows Wayne an opportunity to float that great Tenor sound that we all fell in love with years ago. "Serenata" reminds me of the excellent contribution Wayne made to John Scofield's "Quiet" a few years ago. The brass and strings set up a colorful background for a lovely soprano run. "Vendiendo Alegria" bubbles with creative energy and is filled with splashing horns and lovely strings as Shorter dances and darts with youthful exuberance. Gorgeous Cello & percussion set up the beautiful vibe on "Bachianas Brasileiras" while an African pulse drives the groove on "Angola" and "12th Century Carol". On each of these compositions, Shorter blows with confidence and attitude. Check out his throaty Tenor Sax on "She Moves Through The Fair", this stuff is beautiful.

There is a lot of variety on this recording. The brass and strings, plus and an excellent band, allow us a close up opportunity to experience Shorter's continued evolution as a solo artist. Bright, colorful, bold and imaginative - Five Stars for this wonderful experience. Enjoy!!

The thing that most amazes me about Wayne Shorter is that, unlike some aging artists who reach a certain plateau and remain stagnant, he continues to improve. At certain points on this album, I think he sounds better than I've ever heard him. His tenor solo on the new-ly revised 'Orbits' is a palette of various colors that, together, form a picture of beauty. The wonderful 'Bachianas Brasileiras No.5' is a classical-jazz arrangment that shows off Shorter's range. The title track, 'Vendiendo Alegria', is a tune given to him by Miles who said, "Do something with it." Years later, he makes his mentor proud by what I think is the best song on the album. All in all, 'Alegria' is a wonderful effort by one of the best(if not the best) jazz composers in the world today.

Wayne Shorter's triumphant return to acoustic jazz on his Grammy nominated live album, Footprints, set the stage for this forward thinking and unique item in his discography. An almost orchestral album in scope, Alegria finds Wayne Shorter revisiting both classic pieces made famous during his stay in the Miles Davis quintet along with more obscure traditional fare.

There is one new tune present however, the opening cut "Sacajawea," which is rhythmically based on a driving boogaloo back beat. Shorter's overdubbed dual soprano lines complement his frenetic linear tenor solo on this cut. A fabulous opening to an intriguing album to be sure. The overall mood of Alegria is predominantly one of cool contemplation. Fortunately, the orchestration never becomes overwrought, opting for a "less is more" approach, exemplifying Shorter's compositional mastery.

Two classic 60's era compositions that were conceived during Shorter's tenure with Miles Davis, "Angola" and "Orbits," make radically updated appearances here. "Angola" is driven along with an almost tribal African rhythm, which is a trait shared by quite a few of the tracks on this release. There is an almost world music like patina to these proceedings. "Orbits" initially takes a more relaxed approach, which is undercut by the mysterious multiphonic solo that Shorter delivers throughout the song. Never one to lack for interesting material, there is a traditional waltz, a choral piece and a 1930's flamenco tune all adapted for inclusion.

Another highlight is an absolutely gorgeous interpretation of Villa-Lobos' "Bachias Brasieiras No.5". Hand percussion provides the foundation for cello and tenor sax to gently prod the piece along in a satisfying and wholly organic manner.

Despite the fact that a mere third of the tunes on this album are stripped down quartet tracks, the sporadic and tasteful appearances of a few string players and a small horn section give the album a more intimate feel than one would expect with such a large ensemble.

For those who've been waiting for Shorter to return to the studio to do an all acoustic recording, this should certainly satisfy. It's not the rough and tumble recording that Footprints was, but this certainly adds a new wrinkle to the Shorter legacy. Stylistically alternating between the rich orchestration of "Serenata" and the free form tenor and drum dialogue of "Interlude", Alegria is a welcome return to the sort of diverse album that made Wayne Shorter required listening in the first place.

A new studio album by Wayne Shorter is always a sensation. The last one was released in 1995 ( High Life, a Marcus Miller production), so how does Wayne sound in the new millennium?
Well, in a way, pretty much the same as since the 80's, insofar as he employs the same kind of compositional approach to music. This can be summarized as an architectural or maybe rather, a structural, approach, which introduces elements of the modern concert music into - well, what's left of Jazz. Wayne Shorter has a very unique and immediately recognizable way of doing this.
Incidentally, it's the first all-acoustic recording from him since back in the 60's. This is not really such an important point, even though there are people who would like to segregate the world into acoustic and deplorable non-acoustic - nonsense! It does, however, give the music a coloring more suitable to Wayne's world than on those 80's records with their plastic drums, which are mainly responsible for the way those records ( Atlantis, Phantom Navigator and Joy Rider) have aged and now sound dated, despite their great moments.
Wayne Shorter still plays very well and a lot here. To me, he is the best sax player alive. And the songs? There are new and older compositions by Wayne; the older ones are practically de- and reconstructed, you can hardly recognize them, quite a thrill for those who know the tunes from before. And there are compositions from other sources, like a 12th century carol (also completely deconstructed). Wayne Shorter certainly has strong Jazz roots, but this means little as far as his present musical interests are concerned. This free mind is a rare thing to be found anywhere, especially in the segregated world of American Jazz. And it's one of the reasons, which make Alegria so special.
The opening track is the least palatable to me: kind of hectic, much too constructed, far too intelligent for me. After that, the album finds its pace. The majority of the tracks tend to run at medium or slow speed. And that is good for the music and for the listener, for the compositions are all rather complicated, and at the slower pace, one can grasp the music and therefore appreciate it. Wayne plays both the soprano and the tenor saxes, sometimes at the same time, arrangements as well as solos, and this works better here maybe than ever before. The musicians: we are listening to a small orchestra here, and even though there are sometimes small solos, they are not what this music is about; it's not opera but a narrative, so to speak.
All in all, Alegria is a highly welcome production.

Despite this album's bulky, symphonic arsenal and Sketches of Spain-esque exoticness, it's Shorter's unique and challenging compositional style that keeps center stage throughout it all. He still has a keen sense of balance for tangled up instrumental clashes and sparkling vistas, and the album's orchestral arrangement hasn't compromised any spontaneity or improvisation; it's still jazz. Every instrument is clear in the mix, too, which is great because there's nothing superfluous being played, right down to the bass.

Two flaws I'd like to mention:
- Some of the more "African" rhythmic ideas tend to feel hokey or (bleh) "world music"-ish. It's a clever contrast in some of the album's more neoclassical/third stream-sounding songs, but that contrast doesn't really enhance anything.
- There's a bit too much overdubbing. That keening, triumphant climax of "Sacajawea" feels a bit fake when you realize the same guy's playing two saxophones.

Still, bottom line: it's not elevator music. Sometimes it's _almost_ too nice, but in a totally justified and nuanced way, and if you want something more abstract and cerebral there's still stuff like Footprints Live. Both are testaments to Shorter's enduring creativity and refusal to fall into some bland pop/"adult contemporary" idiom like his peers.

Wayne Shorter
Alegria
Verve Records 314543558-2
www.ververecords.com
Studio technology gets better and better. On "Sacajawea," which opens this new 10-song jazz release, it's used to make saxophone sound like "Mississippi saxophone," better known to most readers as "harmonica." It's weird, but it's innovative. It's weird, but it works, and isn't that part of the mission statement of a true jazz act, anyway?
During the second listen, themes begin to take shape. Gradually, subtly, it becomes apparent that this is an instrumental jazz opera, maybe not to the satisfaction of real opera buffs, but to the extent that Tommy and Jesus Christ, Superstar were rock operas or even that Porgy and Bess was some sort of hyphenated opera. Because it is instrumental, plot and characters are rather difficult to explain, for the story uses rhythm rather than romance and melody rather than melodrama in its development. Shorter once said, recalling his days with Miles Davis, "With Miles, I felt like a cello, I felt viola, I felt liquid, dot-dash . . . and colors really started coming."
On this deep, rich release, color arrives for Shorter and his listeners alike. The flirtation with gypsy music is particularly effective and will be remembered as a cornerstone of "world jazz" as that sub-genre develops.