''Without a Net'' is a live album by American jazz 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 ...

together with his ‘Footprints’ Quartet: 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. The album was released on 5 February 2013 via

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

to a critical success, receiving an average score of 86/100 from 11 reviewers on

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, which indicates "universal acclaim".

Background

''Without a Net'' is Shorter's first album for Blue Note Records in 43 years after ''

Odyssey of Iska ''Odyssey of Iska'' is the fourteenth album by American jazz composer and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, released on Blue Note Records in 1971. Musicians include guitarist Gene Bertoncini, bassists Ron Carter and Cecil McBee and drummer Billy Har ...

'' released in 1971. The album contains eight quartet tracks from its European tour in late 2011, including six original compositions, plus a 23-minute centrepiece "Pegasus" supported by the woodwind and brass ensemble

Imani Winds Imani Winds is an American wind quintet based in New York City, United States. The group was founded by flutist Valerie Coleman in 1997 and is known for its adventurous and diverse programming, which includes both established and newly composed wo ...

. The composition "Orbits" is a new version of the

Miles Davis Quintet The Miles Davis Quintet was an American jazz band from 1955 to early 1969 led by Miles Davis. The quintet underwent frequent personnel changes toward its metamorphosis into a different ensemble in 1969. Most references pertain to two distinct and ...

’s 1967 song of the same name. For "Orbits" the album won 2014 Grammy Award for

Best Jazz Instrumental Solo The Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo has been awarded since 1959. Before 1979 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances. The award has had several minor name change ...

. The quartet also included the title song from the 1933 musical film ''

Flying Down to Rio ''Flying Down to Rio'' is a 1933 American pre-Code RKO musical film famous for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, although Dolores del Río and Gene Raymond received top billing and the leading roles. Among the ...

''.

Reception

Will Layman of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' wrote "Wayne Shorter and his quartet are not just a good or great jazz group, they are a single voice of one of the best American musicians we’ve had in the last 50 years. This is a musician who is far from in his valedictory years. Wayne Shorter seems, only now, to be saying all that he has had to say. And ''Without a Net'' ought to get a superb listening. It’s the shape of where jazz has been and where it is today." Chris Barton of ''

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'' stated "the album is a sprawling, relentlessly inventive listen that nods toward Shorter’s rich legacy as a true musical giant, even while pointing toward an undeniable truth that, even at 80 years old, he isn’t finished exploring yet." Rob Shepherd of PostGenre noted, "While the performances by the saxophonist and his long-standing quartet ... are extraordinary, it is really the compositions which come to the fore. Throughout, they reconstruct an eclectic complication of songs ranging from new tunes to longstanding originals including those once played with Miles’ Second Great Quintet or

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 ...

. Like with the rest of Shorter's scores, even the oldest of these is made to sound not just new and contemporary but, at times, futuristic."Rob Shepherd’s Favorite Jazz Albums of the 2010s
PostGenre.org

Track listing

Personnel

Wayne Shorter Quartet *Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone *

– bass * Brian Blade – drums *

– piano Production *Wayne Shorter – producer, illustration *Scott Southard – executive producer *

Don Was Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was, is an American musician, record producer and record executive. Primarily a bass player, Was co-founded the funk-rock band Was (Not Was). In later years he produced so ...

– A&R *Steve Cook – A&R administration *Gabriel Fonseca – assistant engineer (recording) *Rob Griffin – engineer (mixing) *Jeff Ciampa – assistant engineer (mixing) *Mark Wilder – engineer (mastering) *Tom Korkidis – production coordinator *Gordon H Jee – creative director, design *Robert Ascroft – photography

References

External links

Wayne Shorter Quartet - ''Without a Net'' (rec. 2010, rel. 2013) album releases & credits
at

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Wayne Shorter Quartet - ''Without a Net'' (rec. 2010, rel. 2013) album to be listened
on

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{{Authority control 2013 live albums Blue Note Records live albums Wayne Shorter live albums