Jazz Saxophonist, Wayne Shorter Died At Age Of 89

American jazz saxophonist and composer, Wayne Shorter died at the age of 89. He died in Los Angeles this morning (March 2). Pitchfork reports.

Shorter gained popularity in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davis’s Second Great Quintet and then co-founded the jazz fusion band Weather Report.

Shorter won 12 Grammy Awards. His music has earned worldwide recognition, critical praise, and commendation. In 2017, he was awarded the Polar Music Prize.

In the late ’60s, he added the soprano sax to his arsenal and, with Davis, led jazz toward the avant-garde, eventually modifying the fusion subgenre. As styles evolved in the ’70s and ’80s, Shorter’s own group the Weather Report steered and pursued various iterations of jazz.

Jazz Saxophonist, Wayne Shorter Died At The Age Of 89

Wayne Shorter, one of the world’s greatest jazz saxophonists whose career spanned bop and fusion and worked with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell and Carlos Santana among many others, has died at the age of 89. pic.twitter.com/vPzdavrhnH
— Eric Alper 🎧 (@ThatEricAlper) March 2, 2023