''High Life'' is an album by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

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 Dav ...

that was 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 Simon ...

in 1995. This album won the Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance. Some of the musicians include keyboardist Rachel Z, guitarist

David Gilmore David Gilmore (born 5 February 1964) is an American jazz guitarist. Gilmore studied at New York University with Joe Lovano and Jim McNeely. In 1987 he began working professionally with the M-Base Collective and Ronald Shannon Jackson. In the ...

, bassist Marcus Miller, percussionists Lenny Castro and

Airto Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a member of the B ...

and drummer

Will Calhoun William Calhoun (born July 22, 1964) is an American drummer who is a member of the rock band Living Colour. Career Calhoun was born in the Bronx, New York. He moved to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music, where he graduated with a de ...

Living Colour Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish (who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992). S ...

Overview

The album was the first album Wayne Shorter had recorded as a leader for seven years. It was also his recording debut for

. ''High Life'' was something of a departure from the jazz-fusion albums that Shorter had recorded in the late 1980s after leaving

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and voca ...

. The compositions were generally seen to be more complex than his previous efforts and the use of synthesized instruments was seen to be more subtle. Shorter wrote, composed, and arranged all of the compositions featured on it. A thirty-piece orchestral ensemble was used in addition to the electronic instruments. The album was produced by Marcus Miller, who also played electric bass and conducted the orchestra. Keyboardist Rachel Z contributed to the orchestration and the sound design of the album as well as played piano and synths. Besides soprano and

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

it is the first and only (recorded) occasion Shorter played alto and baritone saxophones. The album was (mainly) recorded and mixed in

Bill Schnee William S. Schnee (born July 4, 1947) is an American musician, music producer, and audio engineer. Schnee has been nominated 11 times for the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Grammy Award and worked on a multitude of other Grammy nominated an ...

's studio in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

, and released on October 17, 1995. ''High Life'' won the Best Contemporary Jazz Performance in 1996.

Track listing

#"Children of the Night" – 7:23 #"At the Fair" – 7:29 #"Maya" – 5:12 #"On the Milky Way Express" – 5:35 #"Pandora Awakened" – 6:20 #"Virgo Rising" – 6:46 #"High Life" – 6:28 #"Midnight in Carlotta's Hair" – 5:54 #"Black Swan (In Memory of Susan Portlynn Romeo)" – 2:04 ''All compositions by Wayne Shorter''

Personnel

– alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone * Rachel Z – pianos, synthesizers, sequencing, sound design *

– guitars * Marcus Miller – bass guitar, rhythm programming, bass clarinet *

– drums *

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 (track 8) * Lenny Castro – percussion * Airto Moreira – percussion * Munyungo Jackson – percussion (track 8) * Kevin Ricard – percussion (track 8) * David Ward – additional sound design Orchestra * Wayne Shorter – orchestrations and arrangements * Marcus Miller – conductor * Suzie Katayama – contractor * Sarah Bonebrake, Stephen Cartotto, Jim Cowger, Michelle Dalton, Ronald Goldstein, Janice Hayen and Frank Macchia – music copyists * Horns and Woodwinds ** Gary Bovyer and Lorin Leeve – bass clarinet ** Ronald Jannelli – bassoon ** Emily Bernstein and Ralph Willliams – clarinet ** Julie Feves and Michele Grego – contrabassoon ** Annarenee Grizell, Kazue McGregor and Sara Weisz – flute ** Joyce Kelley-Clark –

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. ...

** Linda Muggeridge and Leslie Reed – English horn ** Daniel Kelley, Joe Meyer and Brad Warnaar –

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 ...

** Steven Holtman and Robert Payne – trombone ** Jon Lewis and Rob McGregor – trumpet * Strings ** Larry Corbett – cello ** Robert Becker, Denyse Buffum, Ralph Fielding, Harry Shirinian and Evan Wilson – viola ** Bruce Dukov, Armen Garabedian, Suzie Katayama, Edith Markman,

Sid Page Sid Page is an American violinist who has been active in many genres of music since the late 1960s. He has been a member of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. From 1973 to 1974, he was a member of Sly and the Family Stone and appeared on their album ...

and Michele Richards – violin Production * Marcus Miller – producer * John Hendrickson – recording * Will Alexander – additional recording * Ray Blair – additional recording * Peter Doell – additional recording *

Leslie Ann Jones Leslie Ann Jones is a multiple Grammy Award-winning recording engineer working as Director of Music Recording and Scoring at Skywalker Sound, a Lucasfilm, Ltd. company. She is a past Chair of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Science ...

– additional recording * Brian Schueble – additional recording * David Ward – additional recording, production assistant * Koji Egawa – assistant engineer * Steve Genewick – assistant engineer * Sean Schimmel – assistant engineer * Brian Young – assistant engineer *

– mixing *

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charl ...

– mastering * Bibi Green – production coordinator * Nate Herr – release coordinator * Rudi Mallasch – release coordination assistant * Erica Gebhardt – logistics coordinator * David Lau – art direction, design * Chris Cuffaro – photography * Ana Maria Shorter – wardrobe * Lynne Bugai – stylist * M'Jai Jefferson – grooming * Trish Gossett – make-up * Roger Cramer – management Studios * Recorded and Mixed at Schnee Studios (Hollywood, California). * Additional recording at Capitol Studios (Hollywood, California); Pacifique Studios (North Hollywood, California); Milky Way Technics (Los Angeles, California). * Mastered at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California).

References

External links

Wayne Shorter - ''High Life'' (1995) album releases & credits
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

Wayne Shorter - ''High Life'' (1995) album to be listened
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Wayne Shorter - ''High Life'' (1995) album to be listened
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Official Site from Verve Records.
{{Authority control 1995 albums Verve Records albums Albums produced by Marcus Miller Wayne Shorter albums Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album