In Memoriam: Wayne Shorter

American jazz saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter has died. Shorter passed away this morning in Los Angeles, California at the age of 89. A Grammy-winning saxophonist and composer, Shorter helped shape the sound of contemporary jazz. He was born on August 25, 1933, in Newark, NJ, and first came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member and primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davis's Second Great Quintet and co-founded the jazz fusion band Weather Report. He has recorded over 20 albums as a bandleader, and many of his compositions have become jazz standards.

In addition to Shorter’s solo work, he was also a frequent collaborator with top musicians like Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell (appearing in ten of her studio albums), and Bill Evans. Over the course of his seven-decade career Shorter was nominated for 23 Grammys, 12 of which he won, was a recipient of the 2018 Kennedy Center Honors, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement award, an NEA Jazz Masters Award, and the Polar Music Prize. Shorter's contributions to jazz music as an influential tenor saxophonist and composer will forever be remembered. Rest in peace Wayne Shorter, you will be missed.