Tribute to Wayne Shorter, featuring Sheldon Zoldan

Wayne Shorter, who died on March 2 last year, influenced jazz for seven decades. His tribute, written and recorded by Sheldon Zoldan, is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.

Sheldon also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. All of those stories and these tributes include links to the featured songs. Here you can link to YouTube to hear Wayne Shorter's jazz classic, “Footprints.”

If you want to learn more about Shorter, you can read his biography by Michelle Mercer. It's also titled "Footprints" and features an introduction by Shorter and a foreword by Herbie Hancock.

To get on the Song of the Day subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to the show!

Available on Apple, Spotify, Audible and in other directories, and on YouTube.

Transcript

Kate:
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Hello, and welcome to Everyday Creation,

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a show about living our purpose and lifting

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our vibes for ourselves and the world.

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I'm Kate Jones here with a tribute

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to Wayne Shorter,

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who influenced jazz for seven decades.

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This is one of 44 short yet illuminating

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episodes

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about significant figures in the music industry who

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passed away in 2023.

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My guest Sheldon Zoldan,

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a longtime writer and newspaper editor, wrote these

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tributes and recorded them.

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Here's what he says about Shorter, who died

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on March 2nd last year.

Sheldon:
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Wayne Shorter attracted nicknames as a teenager.

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He was called

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Newark Flash and Mr. Gone, but Shorter was

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no more a Flash or somebody who disappeared.

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He influenced jazz for seven decades.

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Shorter died March 2nd in Los Angeles.

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He was 89.

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Shorter grew up in Newark, New Jersey.

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He loved comic books, science fiction and music.

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He learned to play the clarinet

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when he was

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16. He switched to the tenor sax a

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few years later.

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He graduated from New York University with a

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degree in music education.

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His first postgraduate

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job was with Art Blakely's

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Jazz Messengers.

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He became the group's musical

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director and wrote several compositions.

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He left four years later to join Miles

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Davis' Second Great Quintet

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where he started playing the soprano sax.

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He stayed for six years, but while working

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with Davis,

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he also recorded his own albums with Blue

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Note Records.

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He also branched out playing on 10 Joni

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Mitchell albums and with Carlos Santana.

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He was an original member

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of the Weather Report, which

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stayed together in various forms for 15 years

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experimenting with electronics

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and ethnic music.

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He stayed busy during the 21st century

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creating his own quartet.

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He recorded his final album in 2018.

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The album came with a comic book he

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wrote.

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Shorter recorded

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our Song of the Day, "Footprints,"

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for his 1966

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"Adam's Apple" album.

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Miles Davis recorded the song the same year

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for his "Miles Smiles"

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LP.

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KUVO.org

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said the song is often mistaken

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for a jazz waltz.

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"'Footprints' incorporates what is possibly the first use

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of systemic

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African-based cross rhythm," it says.

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The composition is considered a jazz classic.

Kate:
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This is Kate again.

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Sheldon also writes Song of the Day, a

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music-related story sent daily to an email

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list of subscribers.

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All of those stories and these tributes

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include links to the featured songs.

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In this episode's description, you can link to

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YouTube

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to hear "Footprints,"

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which is considered a jazz classic.

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Information on how to join Sheldon's subscriber list

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is available there too.

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If you enjoyed this tribute, please check out

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the next one

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about Gary Rossington,

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the last original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd,

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and share the tributes with anyone who might

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appreciate these well-researched glimpses

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into the lives of the talented people who

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created some of the music we love.

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Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation.