As part of my ongoing celebration of Wayne Shorter’s music this week, here is New York Times review of his 75 birthdy concert at Carnegie Hall. He was joined by a classical wind section, but reviewer Ben Ratlif gives you a feel for what the extraordinary quartet has done during this amazing 8-year run.
They don’t stop between songs, they keep melodies obscured through harmony that’s constantly flowing, and they allow breathing room for everyone, almost rendering obsolete the old notions of jazz architecture — solos, backgrounds, vamps, bridges and so on. Why would you want anything to get in the way of that?