''Alegría'' is a studio album by saxophonist

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

released on

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, ...

in 2003. It is the second album to feature the 'Footprints Quartet' of Shorter, pianist

Danilo Perez Danilo is a given name found in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Serbian. Notable people with the name Danilo include: Athletes Footballers * Danilo (footballer, born 1979), Brazilian footballer Danilo de Andrade * Danilo (footballer, born 19 ...

, 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. When he was 12, he bought his first bass and decided on his career. He listened to bass parts in R ...

and drummer

Brian Blade Brian Blade (born July 25, 1970) is an American jazz drummer, composer, session musician, and singer-songwriter. Early life Blade was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. The first music he experienced was gospel and songs of praise at ...

. The piece "Orbits" is a complete and quasi-orchestral re-imagining of the song of the same name, originally recorded by the Second Miles Davis Quintet and released on the album ''

Miles Smiles ''Miles Smiles'' is an album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released on February 16, 1967 on 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, 1966. It i ...

'' in 1967. "Capricorn 2" revisits another Shorter composition first recorded by Davis in 1967 (though not released until 1976 on the primarily Shorter-composed '' Water Babies''), while "Angola" dates from Shorter's own 1965 album, ''

The Soothsayer ''The Soothsayer'' is the seventh album by Wayne Shorter, recorded in 1965, but not released on Blue Note until 1979.Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 4 stars, stating that "this disc seemed to confirm a long-awaited creative Indian summer for Wayne Shorter."Ginell, R
Allmusic Review
accessed September 17, 2011 Similarly, contemporaneous reviews by Ben Ratliff of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and ''

CMJ New Music Report CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

s Tad Hendrickson happily noted Shorter's return to form. ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' critic Don Heckman commended both the album's "startling diversity" and the "imaginative, high-flying freedom hat characterizesShorter's playing," adding that ''Alegria'' offered "convincing testimony to Shorter's undiminished creativity." In February 2004, Shorter's efforts resulted in two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

s: Best Jazz Instrumental Album and

Best Instrumental Composition The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition (including its previous names) has been awarded since 1960. The award is presented to the composer of an original piece of music (not an adaptation), first released during the eligibility year. I ...

(for "Sacajawea")."Billboard Goes to the Grammys - 46th Annual Grammys: Complete List of Winners"
''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''. February 21, 2004. Retrieved

Track listing

All compositions by Wayne Shorter except where noted. # "Sacajawea" – 7:40 # "Serenata" (

Leroy Anderson Leroy Anderson ( ) (June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him as ...

, Arr. Shorter) – 6:09 # "Vendiendo Alegría" (Malka Himel, Joso Špralja, Arr. Shorter) – 7:03 # "Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5" (

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the ...

, Arr.

Robert Sadin Robert Sadin is an American jazz musician, conductor, arranger, composer and producer. He was conductor of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Discography As leader * ''Art of Love: Music of Machaut'' (Deutsche Grammophon, 2009) As producer * Kathl ...

) – 6:00 # "Angola" – 5:28 # "Interlude" – 1:49 # " She Moves Through the Fair" (Traditional, Arr. Shorter) – 4:39 # "Orbits" – 6:09 # "12th Century Carol" (Anonymous, Arr. Shorter) – 6:04 # "Capricorn 2" – 5:59

Personnel

Footprints Quartet * Wayne Shorter – soprano saxophone (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9), tenor saxophone (1, 4-8, 10), arrangements (2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9) *

– acoustic piano (1, 3, 7, 9, 10) *

– bass (1, 2, 4, 5, 7-10) *

– drums (1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 10) Note: The 'Footprints Quartet' appear intact on tracks 1, 7 & 10. Others *

– conductor (2, 3, 8, 9), arrangements (4) *

Brad Mehldau Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Mehldau studied music at The New School, and toured and recorded while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Quar ...

– acoustic piano (2, 5, 8) *

Terri Lyne Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and ma ...

– drums (3, 5, 9) *

Alex Acuña Alejandro Neciosup Acuña (born December 12, 1944), known professionally as Alex Acuña, is a Peruvian-American drummer and percussionist. Background Born in Pativilca, Peru, Acuña played in local bands such as La Orquesta de los Hermanos Neci ...

– percussion (3, 4, 5, 9) * Frank Morelli –

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

(2, 8) * Allen Blustine –

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

(2, 3, 8),

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

(2, 3, 8) * Chris Potter – bass clarinet (5), tenor saxophone (5) *

Paul Lustig Dunkel Paul Lustig Dunkel (July 22, 1943 – January 14, 2018) was an American flutist and conductor. From 1983 to 2008, he served as music director of the Westchester Philharmonic. He also taught at the New England Conservatory, the Eastman School ...

–

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

(2, 3, 8) * Stephen Taylor –

English horn The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...

(2, 8),

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

(2, 8) * John Clark – French horn (3, 9),

alto horn The tenor horn (British English; alto horn in American English, Althorn in Germany; occasionally referred to as E horn) is a brass instrument in the saxhorn family and is usually pitched in E. It has a bore that is mostly conical, like the flug ...

(9) * Stewart Rose –

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

(3, 9) * Bruce Eidem – trombone (3, 9) *

Jim Pugh Jim Pugh (born February 5, 1964) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He grew up in Palos Verdes, California and at age 10 began taking tennis lessons from John Hillebrand. He played tennis at UCLA. He became a doubl ...

– trombone (3, 5) * Papo Vázquez – trombone (3) *

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he rea ...

– trombone (5) * Michael Boschen – trombone (9) * Chris Gekker – trumpet (3, 9) *

Lew Soloff Lewis Michael Soloff (February 20, 1944–March 8, 2015) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and actor. Biography From his birth place of New York City, United States, he studied trumpet at the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard Sc ...

– trumpet (3, 9) * Jeremy Pelt – trumpet (5) *

Marcus Rojas Marcus Rojas (born February 23, 1963) is an American Tuba, tubist from New York City. Early life Rojas was born in New York City on February 23, 1963, and grew up in Red Hook, Brooklyn. His early influences included Eddie Palmieri, Willie Coló ...

–

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

(9) *

Charles Curtis Charles Curtis (January 25, 1860 – February 8, 1936) was an American attorney and Republican politician from Kansas who served as the 31st vice president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 under Herbert Hoover. He had served as the Sena ...

– cello (2, 8), cello solo (4) * David Garrett, Barry Gold, Gloria Lum, Daniel Rothmuller, Brent Samuel and Cecilia Tsan – cello ensemble (4)

Production

* Robert Sadin – producer, mixing * Richard Seidel – executive producer * Clark Germain – special production assistance, recording, additional mix engineer * David Darlington – special production assistance, mixing * Todd Whitelock – additional mix engineer * Dick Kondas – mix assistant * Steve Mazur – mix assistant * Mike Peters – mix assistant * Shane Koss – audio technical consultant * PK Pandey – audio technical consultant * Mark Wilder – mastering * Seth Foster – mastering assistant * Marsha Black – production coordinator * Camille Tominaro – production coordinator * Theodora Kuslan – release coordinator * Kelly Pratt – release coordinator * Hollis King – art direction * Sachico Asano – design * Kate Garner – photography Studios * Recorded at Cello Studios (Hollywood, California);

Avatar Studios Power Station at BerkleeNYC, formerly known as Avatar Studios (1996–2017) and Power Station, is a recording studio at 441 West 53rd Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The bui ...

, Clinton Recording Studios, Sear Sound and Burning Kite Studio (New York City, New York). * Mixed at Sear Sound, Sorcerer Sound and

Sony Music Studios Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan. I ...

(New York City, New York). * Mastered at Sony Music Studios.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alegria (Wayne Shorter album) 2003 albums Verve Records albums Wayne Shorter albums Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album