"Endangered Species: The Music of Wayne Shorter" by David Weiss @ Iridium, May 12

Endangered Species: The Music of Wayne Shorter
Featuring the Wayne Shorter Tribute Big Band under the direction of David Weiss
Thursday, May 12, 2011, 8pm-11pm
Iridium Jazz Club
1650 Broadway (at 51st Street)
New York, NY

Jeremy Pelt, Diego Urcola - Trumpet
Michael Dease, Joe Fiedler - Trombone
Marcus Strickland, J.D. Allen - Tenor Sax
Tim Green - Alto Sax
Norbert Stachel - Baritone Sax
Xavier Davis - Piano
Dwayne Burno - Bass
E.J. Strickland - Drums

Wayne Shorter is one of the most important composers of the post be-bop era and perhaps the greatest jazz composer alive. His all-encompassing work starts with the hard bop classic compositions he wrote for Art Blakey, on to his groundbreaking Blue Note records which featured many tunes that have become timeless jazz standards, his innovative, conceptual records like "The All Seeing Eye", the music he wrote for the classic Miles Davis quintet, whose sound helped define an era in jazz, his fusion hits with Weather Report, his brilliant almost through composed work such as "Atlantis", and his later orchestral reworkings of some of his classic tunes.

It is very unlikely there has been another composer who has covered more musical territory more brilliantly than Wayne Shorter. The concept of the Endangered Species band is to pay tribute to jazz' greatest living composer and approach his work as he would, as an ever changing, always evolving body of work. The group will perform music from all eras of Mr. Shorter's great career from the Blakey era ("Mr. Jin"), through music from "The All Seeing Eye" and classics from the Miles Davis era ("Fall"), up to his latest compositions from "Alegria" and "High Life".

Also famous for his collaboration with Freddie Hubbard, the Award winning composer (winner of the prestigious Chamber Music America Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project: New Works Creation and Presentation grant and the American Composers Forum's Jerome Composers Commissioning Program.) and arranger (DownBeat Critics Poll Award, Rising Star Arranger) David Weiss has reimagined Mr.Shorter's work for a 11 piece mini big band that features many of the finest young players and rising stars on the jazz scene today.