Tonight brings to an end the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, and what could be a more fitting ending than a performance from one of history’s most groundbreaking jazz musicians. The 2660 seat Hamer Hall is completely full as the Wayne Shorter Quartet walk gracefully onto the stage. After a warm round of applause, the audience becomes silent and Shorter and his band take to their instruments. There’s already a distinct feeling of reverence in the hall. Shorter exchanges a short word with pianist Danilo Pérez, which proves to be the only verbal communication the band share during the performance.
For a long time, it’s only Pérez, double bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade who play. Shorter sits silently watching his bandmates, preparing his saxophones. When Shorter plays his first note on the tenor saxophone, it feels like a door has been opened. Every note is measured and full of intent, contributing a heavy and solemn quality to the first piece.
The performance is made up of about four or five extended improvisations on Shorter compositions. The band’s energy, accuracy and dynamics are overwhelming. The sound is chaotic and complex – it takes close concentration to truly appreciate the mastery on display. There’s an artful structure to how each song develops and flows, which is remarkable considering the bulk of the pieces are improvised.
The night’s most wonderful moments come when all four members are so absorbed in their performance that one of them shouts or laughs out in delight. The audience feels as if they are looking into a private world governed by feeling and intuition. It only takes one member to change the tempo or intensity of the piece for the rest of the quartet to move in that direction and reach something beautifully unfamiliar.
Shorter speaks only once in during the performance. “This piece was written for Mary Shelley,” he says. “It’s called Prometheus Unbound.” The piece showcases Shorter’s command of the soprano saxophone. His sounds are silvery and rich, and especially prominent at the song’s climax. The quartet receive two standing ovations and bow together with their arms around each other. The musicians are humble and warm, shaking hands with punters in the front row.
LOVED: Being privileged enough to see a jazz legend in my lifetime.
HATED: How fast it went.
DRANK: Nothin’.
BY JESS ZANONI
