Wayne Shorter remains one of America's most fascinating living jazz legends. His sound on the tenor saxophone in the 1960s and '70s was muscular, hypnotic and so evocative of the era. His original compositions remain relevant, with their yearning, political undertow and modal scales. [Photo above of Wayne Shorter by Francis Wolf (c)Mosaic Images]
So it's puzzling that there are so few YouTube clips of him live in the 1960s leading his own groups and playing his own music. Part of this is a result of him spending most of his time in the Miles Davis Quintet. He probably didn't tour much for his Blue Note albums such as Juju (1965) and Speak No Evil (1966). [Photo above of Wayne Shorter by Francis Wolf (c)Mosaic Images]
But there's another matter. Unless an artist toured in Europe back then, there's probably very little footage of that artist today. Jazz was rarely captured on camera in the U.S., except it appeared on dopey variety shows or sponsored specials. That's because American television has always been advertiser driven. In Europe, where the governments owned television (and radio) and subsidized programming, jazz was routinely taped for a range of programming. Europe recognized the genius of jazz and documented it. America, sadly, did not.
Here's what I could find of Shorter in the '60s with the Miles Davis Quintet in concert abroad:
Here's the Miles Davis Quintet—Miles Davis (tp), Wayne Shorter (ts), Herbie Hancock (p), Ron Carter (b) and Tony Williams (d) in Stockholm in 1963 playing Agitation...
Here's the Miles Davis Quintet in Milan in 1964 playing Autumn Leaves...
Here's the Miles Davis Quintet in Sweden in 1967 playing Wayne Shorter's Footprints...
Here's the Miles Davis Quintet on the same date and location playing 'Round Midnight...
And here's the Miles Davis Quintet in Antibes, France, in 1969 playing Milestones, Footprints and 'Round Midnight. This quintet featured Miles Davis (tp), Wayne Shorter (ts,ss), Chick Corea (el-p), Dave Holland (b) and Jack DeJohnette (d)...
