Wayne Shorter – Alegría (2003 – Universal)

It is an utter joy to witness the profound evolution of a genius. With the release of Alegria, Wayne Shorter continues to widen and refine his unique musical vision—and share it with the world. From the first few notes of the opening song, “Sacajawea,” it becomes immediately evident that we’re being invited into a lyrical sonic world that is beyond common jazz metaphor. This music is stripped of all superfluity and becomes a singular document—a meeting of heavy spirits.
The music on Alegria feels “lived in” and this aura pervades every piece on the recording, even the sessions with musicians outside of the quartet orbit and the overdubbed sections. The ‘lived in’ quality comes from Shorter himself; like his former employer Miles Davis, there is as much music in what he chooses not to play as what he does voice with his horn. His tremendous presence with each note and every gesture again recalls Miles Davis, inspiring those around him to rise to a higher level of understanding of the music they are asked to interpret.

Track listing:
1. Sacajawea;
2. Serenata;
3. Veniendo Alegria;
4. Bachianas Brasileiras No.5;
5. Angola;
6. Interlude;
7. She Moves Through the Fair;
8. Orbits; 12th Century Carol;
9. Capricorn II

Personnel:
Wayne Shorter: tenor and soprano saxophones;
Danilo Perez; Brad Mehldau: piano;
John Patitucci: bass;
Brian Blade, Terri Lyne Carrington-drums;
Alex Acuna-percussion;
Lew Soloff, Chris Gekker, Jeremy Pelt: trumpets;
Jim Pugh, Steve davis, Bruce Eidem, Papo Vasquez, Michael Boschen: trombones;
Chris Potter: bass clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Charles Curtis: solo cello;
Paul Dunkel: flute;
Steven Taylor: oboe;
Allen Blustine: clarinet, bass clarinet;
Frank Morelli-bassoon; John Clark, Stewart Rose-horns; Marcus Rojas-tuba; David Garrett, Barry Gold, Gloria Lum, Daniel Rothmuller, Brent Samuel, Cecilia Tsan: Cello

Original Release Date: March 25, 2003 (Label: Universal)

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