Wayne Shorter

Birth Name:

Wayne Shorter

Birth Place:

Newark, New Jersey, United States

Profession

Composer, Music department, Actor

Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1998
Graduated from New York University in 1956
His second wife Ana Maria died in 1996 while a passenger on TWA Flight 800
Quote: "Jazz shouldn't have any mandates․ Jazz is not supposed to be something that is required to sound like jazz․ For me, the word jazz means, 'I dare you․' This music, it's dealing with the unexpected․"
Began collaborating with friend Art Blakey in 1959, eventually going on to become his band's musical director
Formed an acoustic group in 2000 consisting of Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade that would go on to record dozens of Shorter's tunes dating back to the 1960s
Joined the Second Great Quintet in 1964 alongside Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams
After working on several albums for Blue Note Records in the late '60s, he would go on to form the fusion group Weather Report in 1970
Nominated to replace John Coltrane after he left Miles Davis' band in 1960, however, his duties with Blakey would prevent him from doing so
Joined the U․S․ Army in 1956 after college and served for two years as a member of the Horace Silver band
A longtime Buddhist, he is a member of the Soka Gakkai
Initially a tenor saxophonist, he began playing the soprano saxophone almost exclusively after leaving Miles Davis in the late '60s

Fast Facts