Wayne Shorter: Ponte de Areia
Continuing my focus on the music of 1975, today’s song is from one of the most influential jazz albums of the year, by one of the most influential jazz artists of all time. Wayne Shorter‘s release Native Dancer fused jazz with funk and Brazilian music. It features Brazilian legend Milton Nascimento and pianist Herbie Hancock, and most of the tunes were composed by Nascimento. It is a joyous release of world jazz fusion that is still identified by young jazz artists as an influence. Amazingly, this incredible album is Shorter’s last solo release for ten years, but it was a perfect bridge for the expansion of music he was about to present over the rest of the decade. His fusion group Weather Report had already helped develop the sound of jazz fusion in the early 1970s before Shorter added bassist Jako Pastorius to the group in 1976. The work of Weather Report from 1976 to 1980 is essential listening to understand modern jazz. Shorter also organized the V.S.O.P. Quintet in 1976. This group was a reimagining of Miles Davis’ iconic 1960s quintet known as the Second Great Quintet. Featuring Hancock on piano, Shorter on sax, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums, the Second Great Quintet pushed the boundaries of jazz as much as any other group of the 1960s. Shorter added Freddie Hubbard to replace Davis, and the V.S.O.P. Quintet spent the next five years laying the jazz revival foundation that would explode in the 1980s with a return to the sound of jazz from the early 1960s. As if this wasn’t enough, Shorter also started his long-term collaboration with Joni Mitchell during the late 1970s and laid down the quintessential jazz rock solo on Steely Dan’s song “Aja” in 1977.
In summary, Wayne Shorter was important and his 1975 album was the springboard for all of his work to come.
If you are interested in other years, check out my Year in Review series.
To listen to all of the songs of the day, check out the Radio Faux Show Song of the Day playlist.
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