''Without a Net'' is a live album by American jazz saxophonist

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (August 25, 1933 – March 2, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Shorter came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary comp ...

and his ‘Footprints’ Quartet: pianist Danilo Perez, bassist

John Patitucci John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz bassist and composer. Biography John James Patitucci was born in Brooklyn, New York. He began playing the electric bass at age 10, performing and composing at age 12, and at age 15, s ...

and drummer

Brian Blade Brian Blade (born July 25, 1970) is an American jazz drummer, composer, and session musician. Early life Born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, Blade was exposed to gospel and praise music while attending Zion Baptist Church at which his ...

. The album was released on 5 February 2013 via

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

to critical acclaim.

Background

''Without a Net'' was Shorter's first album for Blue Note Records in 43 years, after '' Odyssey of Iska'' (1971). The album contains six original compositions recorded on the quartet's European tour in late 2011, along with a version of "Pegasus", featuring

Imani Winds Imani Winds is a Grammy Award-winning American wind quintet based in New York City, United States. The group was founded by flutist Valerie Coleman in 1997 and is known for its adventurous and diverse programming, which includes both establishe ...

, recorded at the

Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 23, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Av ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. "Orbits" is a new version of the composition originally featured on the

Miles Davis Quintet The Miles Davis Quintet was an American jazz band from 1955 to early 1969 led by Miles Davis. The quintet underwent frequent personnel changes toward its metamorphosis into a different ensemble in 1969. Most references pertain to two distinct and ...

's 1967 album ''

Miles Smiles ''Miles Smiles'' is an album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released on February 16, 1967 by Columbia Records. It was recorded by Davis and his second quintet at Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City on October 24 and October 25, ...

''; this version would win a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo in 2014. In addition to the seven originals, the album also features a rendition of the title song from the 1933

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

'' Flying Down to Rio''.

Reception

Will Layman of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' wrote "Wayne Shorter and his quartet are not just a good or great jazz group, they are a single voice of one of the best American musicians we’ve had in the last 50 years. This is a musician who is far from in his valedictory years. Wayne Shorter seems, only now, to be saying all that he has had to say. And ''Without a Net'' ought to get a superb listening. It’s the shape of where jazz has been and where it is today." Chris Barton of ''

The Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the larges ...

'' called the album "a sprawling, relentlessly inventive listen that nods toward Shorter’s rich legacy as a true musical giant, even while pointing toward an undeniable truth that, even at 80 years old, he isn’t finished exploring yet." Rob Shepherd of PostGenre noted, "While the performances by the saxophonist and his long-standing quartet ... are extraordinary, it is really the compositions which come to the fore. Throughout, they reconstruct an eclectic complication of songs ranging from new tunes to longstanding originals including those once played with Miles’ Second Great Quintet or

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer Alphonse Mouzon a ...

. Like with the rest of Shorter's scores, even the oldest of these is made to sound not just new and contemporary but, at times, futuristic."

Track listing

Personnel

Wayne Shorter Quartet *Wayne Shorter – tenor and soprano saxophones *

– double bass *

– drums * Danilo Perez – piano Imani Winds *Mariam Adam – clarinet on "Pegasus" * Valerie Coleman – flute on "Pegasus" *Monica Ellis – bassoon on "Pegasus" *Jeff Scott – French horn on "Pegasus" *Toyin Spellman-Diaz – oboe on "Pegasus" Production *Wayne Shorter – producer, illustration *Scott Southard – executive producer *

Don Was Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was (), is an American musician, record producer, music director, film composer, documentary filmmaker and radio host. Since 2011, he has also served as president of the ...

– A&R *Steve Cook – A&R administration *Gabriel Fonseca – assistant engineer (recording) *Rob Griffin – engineer (mixing) *Jeff Ciampa – assistant engineer (mixing) *Mark Wilder – engineer (mastering) *Tom Korkidis – production coordinator *Gordon H Jee – creative director, design *Robert Ascroft – photography

References

External links

Wayne Shorter Quartet - ''Without a Net'' (rec. 2010, rel. 2013) album releases & credits
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

Wayne Shorter Quartet - ''Without a Net'' (rec. 2010, rel. 2013) album to be listened
on

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{{Authority control 2013 live albums Blue Note Records live albums Wayne Shorter live albums