Wayne Shorter RIP

I was very sad to hear of the death of Wayne Shorter at 93.

I have a particular memory of Wayne’s performance at Birmingham Town Hall in November 2012. This concert, which was the only UK date on that tour, took place not long after Jazzlines had integrated with Symphony Hall Town Hall (now B:Music), and it was at the suggestion of programmer Paul Keene that this integration be celebrated with the presentation of what was probably the most exciting jazz quartet of its times. This was the quartet with Danilo Perez on piano, John Patitucci on double bass, and Brian Blade on drums. The concert sold out, and the quartet was very impressed by the response they received from the audience

This was a magnificent concert: the quartet played an improvised set that included some references to compositions; they played without a break and without announcments for an hour and provided an intense and exhilarating experience for the listener. You can read the review by John Lewis in the Guardian here.

One other pleasing aspect of the concert was that Trish Clowes was introduced to Wayne, and she was invited to spend time studying with Wayne at his home in California.

This was definitely a very special highlight of my promoting career.

Look out for tributes on the London Jazz News website. Read Richard Williams’ obituary in The Guardian here.