Product Description

Wayne Shorter is one of the most significant jazz performers of modern times. He performed as part of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and then Miles Davis' band in the sixties before co-founding Weather Report with Joe Zawinul in the early seventies. This Montreux concert from 1996 features the Wayne Shorter Quintet and followed on from the release of his Grammy Award winning album "High Life". The main show is supplemented by bonus tracks from two earlier appearances at Montreux in 1991 and 1992 when he was in the company of the great Herbie Hancock.

Line-ups 1996: Wayne Shorter (saxophones), James Beard (keyboards), David Gilmore (guitars), Alphonso Johnson (bass), Rodney Holmes (drums). 1991: Wayne Shorter (saxophones), Herbie Hancock (keyboards), Stanley Clarke (bass), Omar Hakim (drums). 1992: Wayne Shorter (saxophones), Herbie Hancock (keyboards), Wallace Roney (trumpet), Ron Carter (bass), Tony Williams (drums).

TRACK LISTING Main Show - 1996 1) On The Milky Way Express 2) At The Fair 3) Over Shadow Hill Way 4) Children Of The Night 5) Endangered Species Bonus Tracks - 1991 1) Footprints 2) On The Milky Way Express Bonus Tracks - 1992 1) Pinocchio 2) Pee Wee / Theme

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63366 in DVD
• Brand: Wayne
• Released on: 2009-02-17
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Live, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 105 minutes

Customer Reviews

Highly valuable addition to a jazz collection
Splendid performance from Master Wayne's group. Great representation of that period of his work. Equally valuable for the collector are the bonus tracks with earlier Montreax performances.

Not a total loss
Wayne Shorter, like a lot of great talents, seeks their own voice. All the great ones have done that, this is simply one that reaches out for something new. This DVD has great video, great sound, here is the but, all this faux piano and bass give the music a synthesized sound. The free jazz movement has no continuity, no form. If you enjoy that, this is for you. However, the last two concerts are a save. The 91 concert brings the accoustical back. the second has Herbie Hancock playing some guitar like electronic thingy that sounds electronic. Again, if this is your bag, great!. The last two tracks from 92 bring Ron Carter on bass, Tony Williams on drums, and a great trumpeter, (no name on box), with Herbie on, a real piano. These last two are great for those of us that like that straight ahead sound, but still avant garde. Not a terrible DVD, just not one that I will reach for very much.

Three great bands, all at the top of their game.
There's no doubt that Wayne Shorter is one of the most interesting artists in jazz, always probing as a composer and an improviser. This DVD is subtitled "Live at Montreaux 1996", but the "bonus tracks", recorded at Montreaux in 1991 and 1992, are every bit as thrilling to watch and hear.

The 1996 band includes jim Beard on keyboards, David Gilmore on guitar, Alfonso Johnson on bass and Rodney Holmes at the drums. Five glittering compositions and Wayne Shorter's always surprising improvisations are once again the high point. Beard's and Gilmore's inventions support, and the rhythm section is solid, but it's Wayne Shorter that provides the energy, as the listener waits to hear what he'll say next. The man was and is a treasure.

For my money, the two bonus track bands that play two compositions each are even more interesting, in no small part because each features Wayne Shorter's longtime collaborator, Herbie Hancock. The 1991 group includes Stanley Clark at the top of his game on acoustic bass and Shorter's Weather Report cohort Omar Hakim on drums. While Omar Hakim seems a bit ill-suited for this music, Stanley Clark is wonderful here, and Herbie Hancock is superb, especially as a soloist. "Footprints" is one of Shorter's most-often performed compositions, but this version starts off almost unrecognizable, then shifts to a half-time funk feel before finally reaching it's more familiar 6/8. Shorter's final solo chorus is particularly wonderful, as is Hancock's following turn.

The 1992 band belongs, at least in part, to the great Tony Williams. He's fierce behind his familiar big yellow Gretsch kit, alternating cymbal washes with explosions of tom-toms and snare. This band includes Wallace Roney on trumpet, and he plays well. Ron Carter is Ron Carter, as good a bassist as there ever was, and very good here. Once again, Herbie Hancock is superb.

The second great Miles Davis Quintet set a standard for musical improvisation that has never been exceeded, in my opinion. Wayne Shorter was integral to that effort, and his recordings before and after, particularly on Blue Note and with Weather Report, are among the best compositional and improvisational jazz ever. Get this DVD to watch and listen to a master, supported by great jazz musicians.