★★★★★
I saw five concerts by the Wayne Shorter Quartet between 2005 and 2011, in four countries. I thought every one was a failure. Their chosen format of unbroken improvised suites, Shorter compositions flying by in fragments, put a creative pressure on the ensemble that it could not sustain for 80 minutes. There were dead spots. They often flailed and floundered, searching for a path...
- jazztimes.com
2013-03-11
★★★★★
Wayne Shorter may be the most respected man in jazz--a member of the legendary Miles Davis '60s quintet, a brilliant leader of legendary Blue Note dates during the same time (Speak No Evil, 1964), an innovator and composer whose involvement with the music has spanned hard bop, Brazilian fusion, and then the jazz-rock of Weather Report. But he has also been the mystery man of jazz, in his tone and in his actions...
- www.popmatters.com
2013-02-21
★★★★★
During his 79 years on the planet, Wayne Shorter's saxophone sound has lived several lives of its own. From the Coltrane-enamored tenor of his first sides as a leader in the late-1950s for Vee-Jay through his early-'60s ascendancy on Blue Note and epochal tenure as Miles Davis's frontline confrere, then onward to the serpentine soprano-favoring fusion of Weather Report, Shorter's style has always been idiosyncratic and porous...
- dustedmagazine.com
2013-02-11
★★★★★
Beyond the Sound Barrier picks up where its predecessor left off: It's another compilation of concert recordings from the band's extensive travels. But where the epochal Footprints-Live! raided the classic Shorter catalog for material, this album sprinkles in several new tunes. They tend toward a mysterious rippling quality that justifies long and cosmic titles. The best of the bunch is the title track, which spins a seductive ostinato into a vast and mysterious koan...
- www.jazztimes.com
2010-02-19
★★★★★
The Wayne Shorter Quartet is back on disc with Beyond the Sound Barrier, another collection of live recordings. And it is tempting to look at it that simply; Footprints Live! came seemingly out of nowhere in 2002 and dazzled us, as did 2003's Alegria...
- www.jazzreview.com
2009-06-08
★★★★★
Wayne Shorter, a legend, an icon, a teacher, philosopher, artist - all of the above. At 72, Shorter has been part of such bands as Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, the Miles Davis Quintet (Herbie Hancock era), and co-founded Weather Report. His many other projects are too numerous to list. Several projects which included his recent band members have led to the recording of Beyond the Sound Barrier...
- www.jazzreview.com
2009-06-08
★★★★★
Track Listing: Smilin' Through; As Far as the Eye Can See; On the Wings of a Song; Tinker Bell; Joy Ryder; Over Shadow Hill Way; Adventures Aboard the Golden Mean; Beyond the Sound Barrier. Personnel: Wayne Shorter: tenor and soprano saxophones; Danilo Perez: piano; John Patitucci: bass; Brian Blade; drums...
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2009-06-05