On The Milky Way Express – 1996
Wayne Shorter
Shorter performing between his Weather Report and acoustic quartet periods
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Wayne Shorter had a long and varied career that included lengthy stints with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and the Miles Davis Quintet (and a long string of classic Blue Note recordings) and co-leading Weather Report during its entire existence.
After Weather Report had run its course, Shorter experimented with a variety of often-electric ensembles before forming his long-time acoustic quartet with Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, and Brian Blade around 2001.
In 1995, he recorded High Life with a large ensemble that included electric instruments; one of the songs was his original “On The Milky Way Express.”
This live version from around 1996 has Shorter joined by guitarist Larry Coryell, keyboardist Jim Beard, electric bassist Jeff Andrews, and drummer Ronnie Burrage.
The music is filled with dense ensembles and, while a bit funky, is quite adventurous and has strong statements by Shorter on both tenor and soprano.
-Scott Yanow
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