Shorter Stories: The Music of Wayne Shorter
Shorter Stories celebrates the music of master jazz composer and saxophonist Wayne Shorter through unique and thoughtful arrangements for septet. Widely considered one of the greatest and most important composers in jazz history, Shorter’s catalog provides fertile ground for reworking. Our arrangements explore alternate grooves, tempos, meters and reharmonizations that create new contexts for Wayne’s beautiful melodies, as well as providing interesting challenges for the members of the group. The band’s library currently includes compositions recorded by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (1959-1964), the Second Great Quintet of Miles Davis (1964-1967) and the first eight of Shorter’s solo albums on the Blue Note label.
Christopher Merz (band leader, saxophone, principle arranger) originally conceived of the project after hosting composer/arranger John Beasley at UNI (Beasley’s project, the Monkestra, similarly tackles the music of Thelonious Monk). The following summer, he wrote 8 new settings of some of the best-known of Shorter’s compositions, for performance on a faculty recital. A year later, the band recorded their debut album, New Juju, now available from all digital outlets on the SkyDeck label. Other members of the ensemble include UNI professors Michael Conrad (piano, arranger), Anthony Williams (trombone), and Josh Hakanson (drums), along with guitarist Bob Dunn (UNI, retired), bassist David Altemeier (UNI alumnus) and trumpeter/arranger Jon Ailabouni (UW LaCrosse). Each member is also involved with several other projects, including the Iowa Jazz Composers’ Orchestra, Christopher’s Very Happy. Band, the Mike Conrad Trio, the Jon Ailabouni Quintet, Extra Anejo, Alto Maiz, Big Fun, the Iowa Bop Collective, and the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra.
Currently, the band’s repertoire focuses on the pre-Weather Report part of Shorter’s career, including compositions first recorded by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis’s second great quintet, with a large helping of works from Shorter’s first 8 solo albums on Blue Note. The arrangers explore alternate grooves, meters, harmonies and moods to reimagine these pieces to fit the band’s lineup and their own personal vision. Those familiar with the original recordings will find these re-imaginings familiar yet provocative, while those new to Mr. Shorter’s music will find plenty of variety in the arrangements and improvisations.
The band has appeared on the main stage of the Iowa City Jazz Festival, as well as multiple times at Noce Jazz Club in Des Moines, Opus Concert Café in Cedar Rapids, Polyrhythms in Davenport, and the Octopus in Cedar Falls. This summer, the band is planning a week-long tour that will take them out of state for the first time. Venues include the Washington (IA) Fine Arts Center, Wine Sellers (Macomb, IL), Blue Strawberry (St. Louis), Westport Coffeehouse (Kansas City), Capital Jazz Society (Lincoln, NE), and Hoyt Sheman Place (Des Moines, IA).
