Wayne Shorter, the skilled and innovative jazz saxophonist who was a member of Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet before leading his own jazz-fusion band Weather Report, has died at the age of 89.
His career as an influential tenor saxophonist and composer reached across more than half a century, tracking jazz’s complex evolution during that span.
His publicist, Alisse Kingsley, confirmed his death, at a hospital. There was no immediate information on the cause.
According to The New York Times, Shorter died Thursday, March 2nd, in Los Angeles.
He then helped pioneer fusion, with Davis and as a leader of Weather Report, which amassed a legion of fans. He also forged a bond with popular music in marquee collaborations with the singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, the guitarist Carlos Santana and the band Steely Dan, whose 1977 song “Aja” reaches a dynamic climax with his hide-and-seek tenor solo.
Born on August 25th, 1933, in Newark, New Jersey, Shorter grew up in a musical family (his older brother Alan was a revered jazz trumpeter in his own right). Wayne playing the clarinet at an early age before transitioning to saxophone.
Shorter won 11 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. He was also named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 1998 and was awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2017.
