Saw this band last winter at USC. A phenomenal show - great interplay among an accomplished bunch, and at that time, Patitucci's general tendancy towards showy excess was not evident, as everyone genuninely communed in an excellent evening of music. I don't get why this thread is devolving into a discussion of Patitucci - not taking anything away from him, but Brian Blade and Danilo Perez are also both powerhouses in their own right, and in particular, I came away from that show with tremendous respect for Perez's sensitivity and breadth of vocabulary in providing the harmonic and rhythmic glue that really held this band together. I had not previously appreciated how good this guy is. But as the band came forward to take a collective bow at the end of the show, Mr. Patitucci demonstrated a degree of self-awareness not evident from his sweaty but exhilerated colleagues, as he primped his hair and grabbed his sports jacket before stepping up. For all of his achievements, he just didn't seem to be as fully absorbed by the gestalt of the moment as his colleagues. And of course, there is Wayne, who plays one hell of a lot of horn for a guy his age, and whose conceptual vision is the reason for this group in the first instance. Bottom line - see these folks if you have the chance.
Wayne Shorter Quartet -- a show worth seeing
They were at the Tampa Theatre tonight -- a wonderful venue built in the 1920s that looks like a Spanish courtyard inside. The performance was outstanding. John Patitucci on bass and Brian Blade on drums are exhilarating to watch -- very dynamic performers. Patitucci's speed and technique are phenomenal, while Blade is incredibly energetic for such an unprepossessing guy. Material was from the Footprints Live! disc, which is a reworking of some of Shorter's best-known pieces from the 60s -- all acoustic.
These guys are worth seeing if you get the chance.
These guys are worth seeing if you get the chance.