Wayne Shorter - Alegria

[Peterdubya]

So, does lack of posts for this "Great" CD mean lack of interest?

[Valerie]

There must be another thread for this as I know I already posted on it - maybe even more than once - and many others did as well!

[claude]

I have yet to hear this one, but I am planning on getting it as soon as I can get myself to a music store.

I understand that this CD is quite different from footprints live. I hope it isn't too different since I am still enjoying the footprints CD immensely. In particular I hope that Brian Blade is in as good form as he was on the live CD.

[Stuckinagroove]

This just hit the streets but I've had it for several weeks!! hahaha

[Valerie]

The other thread discussing Alegria is called "Shorter's New CD".

[Jordan]

Where is this other thread?

[Darryl G. Thomas]

Wayne Shorter: tenor and soprano saxophones
Danilo Perez, Brad Mehldau: piano
John Patitucci: bass
Brian Blade, Terri Lyne Carrington: drums
Alex Acuna: percussion

Trios and quartets are supplemented by additional horns and Charles Curtis on cello.

I've been listening to this on and off all weekend. As stated elsewhere, it is nothing like "Footprints Live!". The material is extremely ecletic, some Shorter originals, Brazillian pop, and a 12th Century Carol(!).

Shorters's the principal soloist throughout, mostly on soprano, with a couple of brief moments for piano. It's his show throughout.

This CD is a wonderful trip through the mind of Wayne Shorter. I can't pigeon-hole or give this a title - I hate to use such a tired cliche as world music, but I guess this is waht it is, and at it's best. It doesn't have the aggressiveness or sparks displayed on the live disc. That may disappoint some. But for me, this is the best thing I've heard in awhile.

There's a wonderful re-working of Angola that knocked me out. It almost feels like a cummulnation of "all things Wayne". I can't put the CD down, and that's rare for me. I recomend it highly.

[Tanager]

I just bought this yesterday. Just started listening last night, but so far, I'm really enjoying it. The lack of "fire" some listeners have noted doesn't bother me at all - I've always found Shorter more cerebral than firey, anyway (but I haven't heard Footprints Live!, either, so I can't make a direct comparison to that).

I like compositionally involved music (to a degree), and I think the adjective I'd use for this release is "lovingly crafted." Carefully composed without sounding contrived or constraining, nice overlap of textures.

And besides, as a classical guitarist, I can't dislike anything which contains work by Villa-Lobos.

[Peterdubya]

This has only gotten better with each listen for me.
I think it is a brilliant piece of work, a lot of different moods, etherial, beautiful music.

Wayne is such a geniius, it really comes through on this.

[Valerie]

From the Washington Post

Recordings
Shorter, Still Long on Talent
Saxophonist Refashions and Refreshes Some Old Favorites
Wayne Shorter's "Alegria" is a studio project that retains the passion and spontaneity that give his live performances their compelling individuality. (File Photo/ Eric Draper -- AP)

By Steve Futterman
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, March 30, 2003; Page G08


It's hard to determine which act Wayne Shorter is on when it comes to his five-decade career. Breaking this long strange trip into four (too) neat divisions can perhaps give us a handle on the artistic trajectory of this equally brilliant and enigmatic figure.

First there were the acoustic years, the apprenticeships with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis's mid-'60s quintet -- overlapping with Shorter's own influential Blue Note recordings -- cementing his reputation as a magisterial tenor and soprano saxophonist and composer of rare distinction. The Weather Report tenure followed as Shorter explored jazz-rock-funk fusion with the popular band; his never-quite-in-focus electric-acoustic solo career, covering the past two decades, is a third marking point. And now, in the past three years, Shorter has come full circle.

On last year's "Footprints Live!" Shorter mixed it up with a vigorous trio of younger, unplugged players, responding with focused and stirring improvising, a great deal on his often-neglected tenor, sending the message that all was well with this modern jazz giant. The future looked bright as Shorter approached his seventies.

Hot on the path of "Footprints" comes "Alegria," Shorter's first all-acoustic album since the late '60s. Apart from its overall excellence, "Alegria" is nothing like its predecessor. A studio creation, the new album features a host of supporting horns, winds and percussion, as well as a cello soloist, to bolster Shorter and his core trios; the steadying hand of producer and occasional arranger Robert Sadin can be felt throughout. Where the live album was all about contained explosiveness -- which often broke out, thrillingly, into the real deal -- "Alegria" maintains its composure.

Which isn't to say that Shorter keeps a lid on his abundant charms. Though there are a handful of sharp piano solos, Shorter remains the chief improviser, delivering stunning statements on both of his horns. His tenor work retains the same bite and elliptical delivery of his glory days, his soprano still remarkably free of all the sentimental tics that a few generations of sub-Shorter followers have allowed to seep in and demean the instrument. While the live album found Shorter working in the heat of the moment with gripping results, this studio project miraculously loses none of the spontaneity or passion that gives Shorter's playing its compelling individuality.

Fresh compositions don't seem to be on Shorter's mind these days so much as reworking older tunes and refashioning an eclectic melange of favorite material. So new versions of "Orbits," "Capricorn II" and "Angola" sidle up nicely to adaptations of classical work by Villa-Lobos and Leroy Anderson, a Latin pop song, a 12th-century carol and a Celtic mainstay, the gorgeous "She Moves Through the Fair." What could have come across as an unrelated grab bag, instead, through Shorter's unifying playing and ensemble vision, unfolds as a musical narrative issued from an inclusive, connective mind.

Jazz, to its credit, is blessed with some very hip elder statesmen -- welcome to the club Wayne.

[Jazzooo]

The best album I've bought in a long time--I'm loving it more with each listen. And Danilo Perez may only have a couple of solos, but they're really good ones!

[lazarus]

This cd is totally cool.
I love it!

Not the same fire and energy as Footprints Live but very good anyway.

[Darryl G. Thomas]

Val,

Thanks for printing the review. I'd read it in the Post after I'd listened to the CD. It was almost as though Futterman had read my mind.

I've been listening to this CD at work and as someone has said it gets better everytime. I wish I had Wayne's insight into music, what makes him tick.

[Valerie]

Originally posted by Darryl G. Thomas
Val, I wish I had Wayne's insight into music, what makes him tick.

Darryl: I've known Wayne for approximately 40 years and I'm still wondering, as are most of our mutual friends!! We used to tease him and say he spoke "Shorthand"! He is one in a billion and a treasure, to be sure! I'm so looking forward to seeing/hearing him in just three days in Boston!

[BlueMiles]

I'm going to have to get hip again to Wayne. The guy had been doing a bit of a disppearing, but what a burst of activity all of a sudden.

A great player, and I have no doubt he still has things to say.