{"id":1218,"date":"2013-02-03T14:07:06","date_gmt":"2013-02-03T19:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/?p=1218"},"modified":"2019-09-12T18:14:35","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T22:14:35","slug":"1218","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2013\/02\/1218.html","title":{"rendered":"Wayne Shorter & Orpheus Chamber Orch: Prometheus, promising but self-bound"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra<\/a> came to play with saxophonist Wayne Shorter<\/a>‘s quartet at Carnegie Hall Friday, Feb 1, and — though conductorless — showed the cohesion and verve that will make a jazz-with-symphony program a triumph. If Shorter’s writing and improvisations had matched their readiness, the night could have been truly historic.<\/p>\n

This orchestra, celebrating its 40th year and proud of its radically democratic ethos, in the first half of its evening’s program used clarity and pacing to give wistful, introspective nuance to Charles Ives’ Third Symphony, Camp Meetin<\/a>g. It tossed off Beethoven’s energetic Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus<\/em><\/a>, his only ballet, with complete self-assurance. And it dug into the glossy, silken hues that Shorter wrote for its accompaniment of his four compositions, including the world premiere of “Lotus,” as if eager to prove that genre-crossing is a strong part of its game.<\/p>\n

Yet for an orchestra to engage with jazzers, the jazzers must be responsive, too. While Shorter, who turns 80 next August, seems physically robust, working hard against the resistance implicit in his instrument the soprano sax, he has become an oblique frontman and disappointing soloist. His collaborators await his leadership while \u00c2\u00a0at least some of his listeners hope he will burst forth with the dynamic lyricism that has marked his best efforts over the past 50 years. And while Ben Ratliff has written in the New York Times that Shorter is “generally\u00c2\u00a0acknowledged to be jazz’s greatest living composer,<\/a>” his strictly linear approach to writing for large ensembles is essentially melody-dominated homonophy, in stark contrast to the multi-dimensionality that Beethoven took for granted and Ives exploited to touching and\/or rousing affect.<\/p>\n

I have been a big fan of Wayne Shorter’s music since the ’60s, but that was a long time ago. Back then his classic Blue Note albums Juju<\/em>, The\u00c2\u00a0All Seeing Eye <\/em>and especially\u00c2\u00a0Speak No Evil<\/em><\/a> were at the\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>top of my playlist. His compositions such as “Footprints<\/a>,” “E.S.P.<\/a>,” “Iris,” “Orbits,” “Dolores” “Masquelero,” “Nefertiti<\/a>,” “Pinocchio,” “Fall,” “Limbo,” “Vonetta,” “Paraphernalia” and “Water Babies” graced Miles Davis’ recordings and\/or set-list (as “Children of the Night,” “Tom Thumb” and others had been in Art Blakey’s book for the Jazz Messengers). His collaborative work with Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Tony Williams,<\/a> \u00c2\u00a0McCoy Tyner always enhanced their albums, whether with tunes or the steady-focus “spontaneous composition” of his solos and the rich depths of his horn (he then played tenor sax exclusively). His brilliance continued to find outlet in Weather Report<\/a>, in the Herbie Hancock-led quasi-Miles Davis reunion band V.S.O.P. (no Miles, but Freddie Hubbard gave his all to that project)\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0and occasional guest appearances, including Steely Dan’s Aja,<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0Joni Mitchell’s tribute to Charles Mingus\u00c2\u00a0Chair in the Sky <\/em>and Carlos Santana’s\u00c2\u00a0The Swing of Delight<\/a>.<\/em> I gave five stars in a DownBeat review of Shorter’s masterpiece Native Dancer<\/a>,\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>with Brazilian vocalist extraordinaire Milton Nascimento, upon its release in 1975.<\/p>\n

But when Shorter left Weather Report in 1985, he seemed to enter a period of struggle, or exploration. High Life<\/a>,<\/em> his 1995 release, was, I thought, his best work in a decade (he hadn’t recorded under his own name for seven years), filled with intriguing songs. The elaborate orchestrations, including an orchestral ensemble and electronics, highlight his soprano playing, which had developed the characteristic uppermost register piping sound he’s continued to employ. Indeed, having all but dropped the tenor completely, Shorter is probably known to a generation of listeners mostly for that sound, which he seems to always be squeezing as if to break an incontrovertible range barrier.<\/p>\n

Since 2000, Shorter’s music has been made in company of his quartet members: pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade. They’ve released three albums from live performances, including just this weekend Without A Net<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>I’ve heard it once, and it’s the band at its best, very energetic and interactive, evidently flowing with intuition, often daring and successful in maintaining precarious balance. Sample it at NPR Music.<\/a><\/p>\n

That said, this is far from my favorite band. Perez, an impressionist, seldom touches on bluesiness, old school swing or what I think of as edge, leaning instead towards a pastoral classicism. Patitucci has a soft, warm and deep tone, which was audible even through the layers of harmony supplied by Orpheus in concert, more than any other of the quartet players responsible for their blend. Blade is likely the most aggressive jazz drummer now at the kit, always exploding, always on top of what’s happening so as to define it. He keeps close tabs on Shorter, calculating his every phrase-length and punctuating them with emphatic, declarative bombs. If Wayne would step forth with confidence, inspiration and command before this crew, Blade’s dynamism might make sense. But to my ears, he’s much too much by way more than half. It’s like Blade’s wanting the whole band to match his volume, but Wayne is just too passive to make such a move.<\/p>\n

Shorter also has come to blow ever fewer notes, of increasingly limited imagination. For a saxophonist who came up in thrall to John Coltrane, and fulfilled the prolix role when in Miles’ deservedly hailed ’60s quintet, his minimalism borders on renunciation. He frequently seems to be looking always for just the right opening to present itself, which he can fill with a pitched stream that comes to him in a lightning strike of unselfconscious impulse. But the kind of rush that Sonny Rollins (going on 83) still can tap and sustain is not currently part of Shorter’s technique. Instead, he hops up the scale from time to time, and down it occasionally, too — usually hitting the same pitches. On Friday he only let lose longer, presumably improvised phrases once or twice. They were beauties, and some devotees believe these are exquisite brush strokes, the distillations of his genius creativity. Am I being greedy to expect much more?<\/p>\n

Shorter’s writing for Orpheus was structured and detailed; perhaps his main interest now is in the composition of these long, fleet lines he prepared for the orchestra. Those lines had momentum and a variety of twists and turns — sometimes supporting the quartet, sometimes seguing in or out of activity as if in a moment of confusion or free play. What they lacked was countermovement and development of multiple facets that would become greater than any \u00c2\u00a0one of the parts. Shorter, who has been, after all, a career-long virtuoso of the single-note line, gave the orchestra attractive and light textures, like silk or chiffon, which might knot up or be draped unevenly. But he didn’t afix these textures to shapes of their own that could unfold in substantive contrast to what he or his fellows played.<\/p>\n

The scores for Shorter’s compositions “Pegasis” (originally penned for a collaboration with the Imani Winds), “The Three Marias” (from his 1985 album Atlantis<\/em>, a Brazilian-inflected line \u00c2\u00a0adapted for Orpheus by Patitucci and Perez, it was the \u00c2\u00a0most gratifying of Shorter’s pieces here), the world premiere of “Lotus” and “Prometheus Unbound” (an expansion of “Capricorn II” from the 2003 studio album Alegr\u00c3\u00ada)<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0kept the members of Orpheus busy. For a large ensemble holding themselves together without a baton to watch, their cohesion was remarkable — I could feel them as an aggregate tighten up at the music’s demand, or loosen when less tension was more fitting. If Shorter, Perez, Patitucci and Blade remained apart from — above? beyond? — the chamber orchestra, it was their own decision. And my criticism is surely a minority report — the audience in not-quite-full Carnegie Hall applauded the entirety of what amounted to a concerto grosso avidly, awarding Wayne Shorter & co. the usual standing ovation. Here is Emilie Pons’ blog posting<\/a> on the show.<\/p>\n

You’ll soon be able to hear and judge this music for yourself. Shorter’s quartet and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra recording pieces from their Friday program on Saturday, for eventual release on Blue Note Records<\/a>. I hope the Carnegie Hall concert was a tune-up, and that in the recording, lightning did strike. Any remaining gap between jazz improvisers and large “classical” ensembles deserves to be bridged. We are past due for agreeing that jazz is equal, if different, to music stemming from Western European symphonic traditions. We are eager, once the gap is closed, to hear great orchestras mixing it up with great jazz bands for a synthesis that’s fresh, new, flexible and promising.<\/p>\n

howardmandel.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Subscribe by Email or RSS<\/a><\/p>\n

All JBJ posts <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra came to play with saxophonist Wayne Shorter‘s quartet at Carnegie Hall Friday, Feb 1, and — though conductorless — showed the cohesion and verve that will make a jazz-with-symphony program a triumph. If Shorter’s writing and improvisations had matched their readiness, the night could have been truly historic. This orchestra, celebrating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1218","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-main","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s1i3CL-1218","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2019,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2016\/04\/kudos-wayne-shorter-sole-jazz-guggenheim-fellow.html","url_meta":{"origin":1218,"position":0},"title":"Kudos Wayne Shorter, sole “jazz” Guggenheim fellow","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"April 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Though the Guggenheim Foundation has in\u00c2\u00a0recent practice\u00c2\u00a0conferred several of its prestigious annual fellowships on musicians of jazz or beyond, only\u00c2\u00a0Wayne Shorter,\u00c2\u00a0the great 83 year old saxophonist-composer -- an NEA Jazz Master, co-founder of Weather Report, veteran of Miles Davis' great 1960's quintet and before that Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers --\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wayne Shorter (@Wayne_Shorter) Twitter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/imgres-1-300x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1327,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2013\/04\/jazz-composers-the-buffalo-philharmonic-orch-jazzapril-week-4.html","url_meta":{"origin":1218,"position":1},"title":"Jazz composers @ the Buffalo Philharmonic Orch – JazzApril week 4","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"April 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Five jazz-associated composers took on the heady task of writing eight-minute works for full symphonic forces, introduced to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and worked up for performance by conductor Matt Kraemer on Tuesday and Wednesday this past week, thanks to\u00c2\u00a0Earshot \/Jazz Composers Orchestra Initiative, organized by American Composers Orchestra. As\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"4 of 5","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/4-of-5-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2421,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2018\/02\/jazz-projects-with-2018-nea-funding-support.html","url_meta":{"origin":1218,"position":2},"title":"Jazz and beyond projects with 2018 NEA funding support","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"February 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Given all the noise, the\u00c2\u00a0National Endowment for the Arts' $25 mil for arts, literature and education\u00c2\u00a0announced Feb. 7 may have been overlooked. But these funds and the projects they support, nationwide, should be noted.\u00c2\u00a0From more than $3 million going to initiatives strictly labeled \"Music\" (exclusive of \"Musical Theater\" or \"Opera\")\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Akropolis Reed Quintet\"","block_context":{"text":"Akropolis Reed Quintet","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/tag\/akropolis-reed-quintet"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/images-1.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1767,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2015\/02\/jazz-composers-meet-symphony-orchestra-challenge.html","url_meta":{"origin":1218,"position":3},"title":"Jazz composers meet symphony orchestra challenge","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"February 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The American Composers Orchestra's Jazz Composers Orchestra Initiative rides again\u00c2\u00a0-- application deadline April for a two part intensive beginning August 2015. I blogged about at length\u00c2\u00a0about the Buffalo Philharmonic's 2013 reading of\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0first symphonic works by five highly skilled performer-composers who otherwise would be hard-pressed get a chance to write for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"rufus","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/rufus.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2950,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2021\/10\/jazz-autumn-returns-galas-and-even-awards.html","url_meta":{"origin":1218,"position":4},"title":"Jazz Autumn: Returns, galas and even awards","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"October 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"If all \"jazz\" shares a single trait, it's that nothing will stifle it. Adjusting to covid-19 Ari Brown greets fan at Hyde Park Jazz Festival; photo by Michael Jackson for Chicago Reader strictures, Chicago (just for instance) in the past two months has been site of: A stellar Hyde Park\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ari-Brown-greets-a-fan-Hyde-Park-Jazz-Festival-2021-MJ.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ari-Brown-greets-a-fan-Hyde-Park-Jazz-Festival-2021-MJ.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ari-Brown-greets-a-fan-Hyde-Park-Jazz-Festival-2021-MJ.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2007\/10\/singers_of_the_songs.html","url_meta":{"origin":1218,"position":5},"title":"Singers of the songs","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"October 14, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Norah Jones, Tina Turner, Corrine Bailey Rae, Luciana Souza and Leonard Cohen are not voices necessarily dear to fans of serious jazz, but Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter don't alone make River: The Joni Letters a must-hear. In yesterday's post I didn't do justice to the singers who deliver Joni\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1218\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}