Longy’s performance are free and open to the public, but please register in advance.
String Theory: the Music of Wayne Shorter for Guitar
Wayne Shorter is considered one of the most important post war (WWII) jazz composers and improvisers. His work spanned Hard Bop, Modal, Post-Modal (free), Jazz-Rock Fusion, Chamber Music, Opera and more. His unique voice as a composer was matched by his very personal approach to improvisation which is featured in too many influential collaborations to mention here… but highlights include working with Miles Davis, Weather Report, Joni Mitchell and his closest friend, Herbie Hancock. Shorter’s pieces are remarkable for their synthesis of advanced non diatonic harmonic progressions and memorable, often simple pentatonic, beautiful melodies. His work is steeped in both the tradition of the blues yet embraces the pure spontaneity of improvisation. One of his favorite sayings was “How do you rehearse the unknown?” Both students and faculty contributed arrangements of Shorter’s more overlooked pieces from the 1960’s for guitar ensemble.
Jazz and Contemporary Music
