The bottom line is that Pryor refused to look back – he was only ever interested in doing something new. The fact that Pryor still ranks as one of the all time great, boundary breaking comedians is a testament to the dividends of this gutsy method.
Comparisons between musicians and comedians are generally somewhat incongruous, as many musicians spend their years performing a core selection of compositions, whereas it’s essential for stand-up comedians to keep updating their routines. The career of an improvising jazz performer, however, is perhaps the closest equivalent.
Saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter has played on more releases than almost any other living musician. His recording career began in the late 1950s, and he continued to work at a staggering rate for several decades to come. After three years playing with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, he began a two-decade partnership Miles Davis, playing on such classic albums as Nefertiti and Bitches Brew. Through the ‘70s and ‘80s he also led the jazz-fusion band Weather Report, played with Joni Mitchell and Herbie Hancock and released over a dozen solo albums. Shorter hasn’t forgotten about these albums, but he’s never been interested in mimicking his earlier successes.
“Someone asked me, ‘What’s your favourite composition?’ I said, ‘the next one.’ For me, these compositions, to speak of them and their singular moments and everything like that, it slows down the momentum that we are currently in,” says Shorter. “I think of them as fuel and to take with me the actual essence of what they was about. It’s always about: go forward. Not just musically – go forward with all of life, your mission, even if you’re on the trail less trodden. I’m taking that trail less trodden. The other trail is crowded with compass owners and formula-driven, strategy-driven people. This challenge of being in the moment and improvising might be the most fearless way of negotiating the unknown.”
Shorter’s played on numerous recordings that aren’t just critically revered, but are seen as genre-defining, artistic masterpieces – Bitches Brew, Weather Report’s Mysterious Traveller, Mitchell’s Mingus, and his solo LP Native Dancer are but a few examples. The saxophonist and bandleader is now 82-years-old, but with the Wayne Shorter Quartet he keeps pushing forward into the unknown.
“Like for the scientist that says, ‘Find me a new number’, or can you say you love somebody better than that? The effort to do something that’s never done before is, to me, an expression of gratitude for this whole mystery of life,” Shorter says. “The effort to give a gift of originality… maybe the effort is the best thing you could do. Maybe the effort surpasses the actual realisation of that. Realisation’s very tricky. You know, you get all bigheaded, think that you’re the only one that can do it.
“There are two profound moments in life. One is being born and the other is knowing why. When people say, ‘What is life?’ I jump up and say, ‘what is life?’ Then if we talking like that Miles would say, ‘Why don’t y’all play that? Go out there and play what you just said.’ That’s the challenge. Play what you just said.”
Shorter’s releases have been less frequent in recent years, but the Quartet have kept touring regularly and released a number of live recordings. Their most recent release, Without A Net, came out in 2013, and Shorter’s next project looks to be another instance of taking the trail less trodden.
“We’re having another album come out in the fall; this group together with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. This album is going to come out on Blue Note with a graphic science fiction novel in the package with it. The music is all done. The graphic novel was Don Was’ idea. So why not? You have young kids inventing all kinds of stuff. There’s no university for inventors.”
Unlike many musicians of a similar age, the release of a new Wayne Shorter record truly warrants excitement. However, we won’t have to wait until the new album for another chance to witness Shorter fearlessly negotiating the unknown. He brings the quartet – featuring pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade – back to town for the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Travel, for Shorter, isn’t just necessary; it’s an essential part of his mission.
“The places that we go, no matter the distance, it’s still rehearsal for everyone to experience what the imagination can bring when we all get caught in each other’s crosshairs. Going to Melbourne, I want to see what’s new, what you’re doing there. Not just that we’re bringing this and bringing that – let’s trade.”
