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Footprints: The Life and Work of Wayne Shorter
Saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter has not only left his footprints on our musical terrain, he has created a body of work that is a monument to artistic imagination. Throughout Shorter's extraordinary fifty-year career, his compositions have helped define the sounds of each distinct era in the history of jazz.
Filled with musical analysis by Mercer, enlivened by Shorter's vivid recollections, and enriched by more than seventy-five original interviews with his friends and associates, this book is at once an invaluable history of music from bebop to pop, an intimate and moving biography, and a story of a man's struggle toward the full realization of his gifts and of himself.
Filled with musical analysis by Mercer, enlivened by Shorter's vivid recollections, and enriched by more than seventy-five original interviews with his friends and associates, this book is at once an invaluable history of music from bebop to pop, an intimate and moving biography, and a story of a man's struggle toward the full realization of his gifts and of himself.
352 pages, Paperback
First published December 29, 2004
38 people are currently reading
325 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Mercer
9 books18 followersIn addition to producing regular essays and reports for National Public Radio, Michelle is the author of Footprints: The Life and Work of Wayne Shorter (Penguin) and Will You Take Me As I Am (Simon & Schuster). Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Village Voice and numerous magazines. She has been awarded artist residencies by the city of Kristiansand, Norway, the Sacatar Foundation in Brazil, the Vermont Studio Center, and Anderson Center for the Arts. Michelle holds an MFA in Literature and Writing from the Bennington Writing Seminars. She lives with her family in Colorado.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
January 25, 2009
Wayne Shorter is out there. And in a good way. This very involved, very intensely researched biography was a rare page-turner. Even better if you have a collection of his music to listen to while you read.
December 10, 2012
It's one of the most inspiring biographies I've ever read. Wayne is a very unusual character and often what he answers in interviews is quite difficult to understand, due to his love of (unconsciously) using Koans, metaphors, and parables.
This book allows you to get to the heart of that and also to have some insight of his creative process, which turns out to be the gift that the book gives to the reader.
Kudos to the author, Michelle Mercer, for making this book more than a collection of stories about Shorter's gig.
I appreciate his music much much more now. and I know why my colleagues worship him as one of the 'jazz gods'.
His relationship with Buddhism is note-worthy as well.
This book allows you to get to the heart of that and also to have some insight of his creative process, which turns out to be the gift that the book gives to the reader.
Kudos to the author, Michelle Mercer, for making this book more than a collection of stories about Shorter's gig.
I appreciate his music much much more now. and I know why my colleagues worship him as one of the 'jazz gods'.
His relationship with Buddhism is note-worthy as well.
June 25, 2007
I read this while I was working at IMN (Wayne Shorter's booking agency) and befriended the author (Michelle Mercer). Wayne Shorter is such an amazing person, so this book is great :)
January 20, 2011
hmmm, i don't know, i never really felt like the writer understood her subject. the opening 40 pages offered some insights on this mad genius in the context of his formative years and musical experiences, but once wayne joins blakey's band, the book sets up this typical sequence of who played with whom, etc. etc.
if you've read miles davis' autobiography, you are privy to a good deal more information on that period than is offered herein, but there is a reprinting of the letter that wayne shorter wrote to columbia records to instruct them to pay him the complete royalties on sanctuary, which appeared on bitches' brew. (miles had asked for partial composer royalties).
mercer tells us that wayne shorter is a mysterious man and one of the greatest living tenor saxophonists, which most of us knew going in. i can imagine that wayne shorter is probably a difficult subject to write about - the writer tells us how confounding it can be to have what one might term a typical conversation with him, where you might ask for some specific dates or important facts. like lester young and many other jazz luminaries, he created a unique world view all his own, his music is the sonic representation of that world (or worlds, in wayne's case) and his verbal language is as complex, colorful, and elliptical. i'm sure it is hard to write words about a man who is dwells so comfortably in silence.
i guess i'm glad i read it - if i wasn't so tired i could probably name a dozen music biographies that are superior though. the sun ra book, forces in motion (braxton), the partch book, bird lives, ascension: john coltrane and his quest, morning glory (mary lou williams), and music is my mistress (ellington) are the ones that come to mind without fail. it did make me want to listen to his new quartet recordings!
if you've read miles davis' autobiography, you are privy to a good deal more information on that period than is offered herein, but there is a reprinting of the letter that wayne shorter wrote to columbia records to instruct them to pay him the complete royalties on sanctuary, which appeared on bitches' brew. (miles had asked for partial composer royalties).
mercer tells us that wayne shorter is a mysterious man and one of the greatest living tenor saxophonists, which most of us knew going in. i can imagine that wayne shorter is probably a difficult subject to write about - the writer tells us how confounding it can be to have what one might term a typical conversation with him, where you might ask for some specific dates or important facts. like lester young and many other jazz luminaries, he created a unique world view all his own, his music is the sonic representation of that world (or worlds, in wayne's case) and his verbal language is as complex, colorful, and elliptical. i'm sure it is hard to write words about a man who is dwells so comfortably in silence.
i guess i'm glad i read it - if i wasn't so tired i could probably name a dozen music biographies that are superior though. the sun ra book, forces in motion (braxton), the partch book, bird lives, ascension: john coltrane and his quest, morning glory (mary lou williams), and music is my mistress (ellington) are the ones that come to mind without fail. it did make me want to listen to his new quartet recordings!
August 10, 2007
This is a really cool book. Mercer does a great job of capturing Shorter's quirky personality. And his life is a history of jazz, so you get all the cool stories about Art Blakey, Miles, and Weather Report. Very inspiring.
July 27, 2025
A Must-Read for Jazz Lovers and Music Thinkers
Wayne Shorter is a living legend, but this book made me realize how little attention I’d paid to what he was actually doing with the music. I knew him from Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, and some early classics—but Footprints brings it all into focus.
The biography is equal parts insightful and entertaining. At times it’s funny; other times, you’re taken deep into Shorter’s abstract philosophical world—where music, life, and the cosmos are all interconnected. And surprisingly, it’s not confusing—it’s just Wayne being Wayne.
What I appreciated most was how the book helped me understand the man, which in turn deepened my appreciation for his music. His compositions reflect his inner world, constantly evolving with life. He’s not just a great saxophonist—he’s a thinker, a seeker, an “Exotic Lone Wolf,” as fellow musicians called him.
Reading this alongside streaming his discography added layers to the experience. Hearing the music while reading about it made the story richer, more immersive.
If you’ve read biographies on Miles or Herbie—like Possibilities—this one rounds out the trio beautifully. Together, they offer a revealing glimpse into the inner workings of jazz history, friendship, and creative genius.
Wayne Shorter is a living legend, but this book made me realize how little attention I’d paid to what he was actually doing with the music. I knew him from Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, and some early classics—but Footprints brings it all into focus.
The biography is equal parts insightful and entertaining. At times it’s funny; other times, you’re taken deep into Shorter’s abstract philosophical world—where music, life, and the cosmos are all interconnected. And surprisingly, it’s not confusing—it’s just Wayne being Wayne.
What I appreciated most was how the book helped me understand the man, which in turn deepened my appreciation for his music. His compositions reflect his inner world, constantly evolving with life. He’s not just a great saxophonist—he’s a thinker, a seeker, an “Exotic Lone Wolf,” as fellow musicians called him.
Reading this alongside streaming his discography added layers to the experience. Hearing the music while reading about it made the story richer, more immersive.
If you’ve read biographies on Miles or Herbie—like Possibilities—this one rounds out the trio beautifully. Together, they offer a revealing glimpse into the inner workings of jazz history, friendship, and creative genius.
May 23, 2021
A beautiful look into the life of a largely overlooked genius.
To look at Wayne's life is to begin to understand the higher consciousness of a musical genius. Anyone looking to expand their horizons should read this book and learn more about Shorter. His influences, his reactions to life events, and evaluating his music as presented by this book, should give anyone a new and unusual perspective on life.
To look at Wayne's life is to begin to understand the higher consciousness of a musical genius. Anyone looking to expand their horizons should read this book and learn more about Shorter. His influences, his reactions to life events, and evaluating his music as presented by this book, should give anyone a new and unusual perspective on life.
January 1, 2025
A timely book, Mercer’s biography of Wayne Shorter ends on what seemed his career high point. She does a fantastic job pulling the science fiction, alien observer, wide-eyed curiosity, Buddhist compassion, and other major themes of his life through his story. It would be great to have perspective on the last decade and a half of his life, during which he fully realized some of the artistic vision of his densely composed symphonic visions and claimed complete mastery of the small group form.
June 22, 2022
An excellent musical autobiography of a true jazz great. Shorter marches to beat of his own drum and has lived a life traveling the road less taken. An artistic inspiration and I hope more music lovers discover his music.
September 10, 2021
Beautiful biography of a beautiful spirit...illuminates the music, the method, the man, through laughter and tears...more later
April 4, 2015
Wayne Shorter is one of the greatest innovators in the music that is broadly defined as jazz. He is a most influential saxophonist whose tenor playing builds upon the foundations laid by earlier masters from Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young to Coltrane. On soprano, he was the foremost pioneer since the late 1960s. Most importantly, he is an extraordinary composer with an amazing breadth of knowledge and influences from Western classical to Brazilian music. Born in 1933, Shorter is also one of the last of the generation that revolutionized jazz who is left with us. The biography by Michelle Mercer is, thus, a must read for everyone interested in the evolution of music and the role of this giant in it.
‘Footsteps’ that takes its name from one of Shorter’s most famous compositions follows him from his early days in Newark, NJ, until almost today. Mercer has spent plenty of time with the man himself, as well as those close to him, gleaning tremendous amounts of information and an obvious love and admiration for him. The biography takes us through the major bands with which Shorter was affiliated throughout the 1960s to 1980s, all of them central to the development of contemporary music. First there was Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in which young Wayne soon assumed the role of a prominent composer and musical director. Then came Miles Davis’ Quintet, which to me personally was arguably the best combo ever, with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams completing the roundup of geniuses. Wayne stayed with Miles to innovate with the new electric experiments on ‘Filles de Kilimanjaro,' ‘In a Silent Way’ and 'Bitches Brew,' turning to the soprano.
To the larger audience, Shorter is probably most known as a founding member and co-leader, with Joe Zawinul, of Weather Report. The band was active from 1971 to 1986 and achieved unprecedented commercial success for a “jazz” outfit. This was largely due to Zawinul’s directions that took the band from its early free electronic avant-garde increasingly towards funky beats and catchy vamps (think, ‘Birdland’ from the 1977 album ‘Heavy Weather’). When the super-bassist Jaco Pastorius joined Weather Report in 1976, he and Zawinul formed a powerful axis in the band’s music. In the later years, Shorter’s role in the band was audibly diminished, which has led many to speculate about the reasons. Given the centrality of Weather Report to Shorter’s career over a decade and a half, Mercer spends a significant portion of the book exploring the period providing many interesting insights.
It is also interesting to read about Shorter’s ventures crossing over to rock, and his thoughts about them. He had a long-term and very productive relationship with Joni Mitchell producing some beautiful music together. He also collaborated with Carlos Santana whose appreciation of jazz and musical inclinations coincided with those of Shorter, despite their different points of departure. Both, for examples, admire Coltrane. Arguably the best saxophone solo ever on a rock record (the only one competing I can think of is Fred Lipsius’ alto solo on ‘God Bless the Child’ by Blood, Sweat & Tears) was by Shorter on the title song of Steely Dan’s extraordinary 1977 album ‘Aja.’ It was very interesting to learn that it was constructed of fragments of several solos improvised by Wayne. Shorter would have had much demand as a session player for rock stars, but hesitated to sell out and declined almost all offers. The fact that he did collaborate with Mitchell, Santana and Steely Dan is testimony to the latter artists' musical sensibilities.
Throughout the years Shorter has made his own recordings, starting with ‘Introducing Wayne Shorter’ in 1959. His discography thus far contains some 25 titles under his own name as leader, the latest being ‘Without a Net’ (2013) with his permanent quartet with Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade. Many critics and fans welcomed the quartet when it was formed in 2000 as the first fully acoustic group that Shorter played with in a long while. He himself appears extremely satisfied with the group of younger but by now established musicians each with their own credentials as leaders.
‘Footprints’ is an intimate book with a close look at Wayne Shorter’s personal life. He has had his share of hardships, including the illness and death at 14 of his daughter Iska with his beloved second wife Ana Maria with whom he spent nearly three decades until she perished on the TWA flight 800 that exploded off Long Island in 1996. Over long periods of time, Shorter also struggled with creativity as a composer, only to find that it would always come back propelling him to write ever more inspired and complex music. In 1999, Shorter remarried and appears to be at peace with himself. He is a practicing Nichiren Buddhist and active member of the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai (alongside many other artists, such as his close friends Herbie Hancock and Tina Turner). Here one would have wished the biographer take a bit more distance and not reporting everything about Soka Gakkai in such gushing terms. An interesting insight from the biography is also how films have provided important inspiration to the composer.
Reading the book made me go back and listen again to many of Wayne Shorter’s recordings from the celebrated old favorites ‘JuJu’ (1964) and ‘Speak No Evil’ (1965) to his latest with the new quartet. In between I rediscovered the ethereal beauty of ‘Odyssey of Iska’ (1970). The near magical wonder of ‘Native Dancer’ (1974) featuring Milton Nascimento’s unique and haunting singing I have been lucky never to lose in these intervening years. Like for many others, the following productions in the mid-1980s following a decade with no records under his own name had always left me somewhat cold, although I do remember hearing the Wayne Shorter band live in Rome, Italy, soon after the release of ‘Atlantis’ in 1985 and raving about it. I am yet to go back to that and other records from the period, which sit on my shelf waiting for me to gather the courage.
I did go back to listen to Weather Report. Not the all too familiar funk albums but the early ones that had been overshadowed by the later, flashier productions. The original eponymous album from 1971 rekindled the magic with its sparkles and lightness. With the third founding member, Miroslav Vitous (with whom the band would later break acrimoniously to follow Zawinul’s vision for a heavier, funkier sound) played a key role, as did the percussionists Alphonse Mouzon and Airto Moreira. There still were no synthesizers, with the Fender Rhodes and the occasional bass guitar as the only electric instruments. The subsequent albums – ‘I Sing the Body Electric,’ ‘Sweetnighter,’ ‘Mysterious Traveller’ – that appeared annually after the first album continued in the footsteps of the original. I am not saying that the later Weather Report productions were bad – on the contrary – but I personally miss the free-flowing mysticism of the early ones.
Amazing beauty and creativity can also be heard on one of Wayne Shorter’s newer recordings, ‘Alegria’ (2003), which contains the master’s compositions featuring, in addition to his regular quartet, a large orchestra with horns, woodwinds and strings, and additional guests, such as Brad Mehldau, Terri Lyne Carrington and the Weather Report alumnus Alex Acuña.
Wayne Shorter has had a long, varied and incredibly productive career. He has been, deservedly, recognized by the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz with a Lifetime Achievement Award (2013) and with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2014). We must be grateful to Michelle Mercer for bringing us a biography that is well-researched, intimate and provides the readers and listeners a look into the life and mind of this creative genius.
‘Footsteps’ that takes its name from one of Shorter’s most famous compositions follows him from his early days in Newark, NJ, until almost today. Mercer has spent plenty of time with the man himself, as well as those close to him, gleaning tremendous amounts of information and an obvious love and admiration for him. The biography takes us through the major bands with which Shorter was affiliated throughout the 1960s to 1980s, all of them central to the development of contemporary music. First there was Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in which young Wayne soon assumed the role of a prominent composer and musical director. Then came Miles Davis’ Quintet, which to me personally was arguably the best combo ever, with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams completing the roundup of geniuses. Wayne stayed with Miles to innovate with the new electric experiments on ‘Filles de Kilimanjaro,' ‘In a Silent Way’ and 'Bitches Brew,' turning to the soprano.
To the larger audience, Shorter is probably most known as a founding member and co-leader, with Joe Zawinul, of Weather Report. The band was active from 1971 to 1986 and achieved unprecedented commercial success for a “jazz” outfit. This was largely due to Zawinul’s directions that took the band from its early free electronic avant-garde increasingly towards funky beats and catchy vamps (think, ‘Birdland’ from the 1977 album ‘Heavy Weather’). When the super-bassist Jaco Pastorius joined Weather Report in 1976, he and Zawinul formed a powerful axis in the band’s music. In the later years, Shorter’s role in the band was audibly diminished, which has led many to speculate about the reasons. Given the centrality of Weather Report to Shorter’s career over a decade and a half, Mercer spends a significant portion of the book exploring the period providing many interesting insights.
It is also interesting to read about Shorter’s ventures crossing over to rock, and his thoughts about them. He had a long-term and very productive relationship with Joni Mitchell producing some beautiful music together. He also collaborated with Carlos Santana whose appreciation of jazz and musical inclinations coincided with those of Shorter, despite their different points of departure. Both, for examples, admire Coltrane. Arguably the best saxophone solo ever on a rock record (the only one competing I can think of is Fred Lipsius’ alto solo on ‘God Bless the Child’ by Blood, Sweat & Tears) was by Shorter on the title song of Steely Dan’s extraordinary 1977 album ‘Aja.’ It was very interesting to learn that it was constructed of fragments of several solos improvised by Wayne. Shorter would have had much demand as a session player for rock stars, but hesitated to sell out and declined almost all offers. The fact that he did collaborate with Mitchell, Santana and Steely Dan is testimony to the latter artists' musical sensibilities.
Throughout the years Shorter has made his own recordings, starting with ‘Introducing Wayne Shorter’ in 1959. His discography thus far contains some 25 titles under his own name as leader, the latest being ‘Without a Net’ (2013) with his permanent quartet with Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade. Many critics and fans welcomed the quartet when it was formed in 2000 as the first fully acoustic group that Shorter played with in a long while. He himself appears extremely satisfied with the group of younger but by now established musicians each with their own credentials as leaders.
‘Footprints’ is an intimate book with a close look at Wayne Shorter’s personal life. He has had his share of hardships, including the illness and death at 14 of his daughter Iska with his beloved second wife Ana Maria with whom he spent nearly three decades until she perished on the TWA flight 800 that exploded off Long Island in 1996. Over long periods of time, Shorter also struggled with creativity as a composer, only to find that it would always come back propelling him to write ever more inspired and complex music. In 1999, Shorter remarried and appears to be at peace with himself. He is a practicing Nichiren Buddhist and active member of the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai (alongside many other artists, such as his close friends Herbie Hancock and Tina Turner). Here one would have wished the biographer take a bit more distance and not reporting everything about Soka Gakkai in such gushing terms. An interesting insight from the biography is also how films have provided important inspiration to the composer.
Reading the book made me go back and listen again to many of Wayne Shorter’s recordings from the celebrated old favorites ‘JuJu’ (1964) and ‘Speak No Evil’ (1965) to his latest with the new quartet. In between I rediscovered the ethereal beauty of ‘Odyssey of Iska’ (1970). The near magical wonder of ‘Native Dancer’ (1974) featuring Milton Nascimento’s unique and haunting singing I have been lucky never to lose in these intervening years. Like for many others, the following productions in the mid-1980s following a decade with no records under his own name had always left me somewhat cold, although I do remember hearing the Wayne Shorter band live in Rome, Italy, soon after the release of ‘Atlantis’ in 1985 and raving about it. I am yet to go back to that and other records from the period, which sit on my shelf waiting for me to gather the courage.
I did go back to listen to Weather Report. Not the all too familiar funk albums but the early ones that had been overshadowed by the later, flashier productions. The original eponymous album from 1971 rekindled the magic with its sparkles and lightness. With the third founding member, Miroslav Vitous (with whom the band would later break acrimoniously to follow Zawinul’s vision for a heavier, funkier sound) played a key role, as did the percussionists Alphonse Mouzon and Airto Moreira. There still were no synthesizers, with the Fender Rhodes and the occasional bass guitar as the only electric instruments. The subsequent albums – ‘I Sing the Body Electric,’ ‘Sweetnighter,’ ‘Mysterious Traveller’ – that appeared annually after the first album continued in the footsteps of the original. I am not saying that the later Weather Report productions were bad – on the contrary – but I personally miss the free-flowing mysticism of the early ones.
Amazing beauty and creativity can also be heard on one of Wayne Shorter’s newer recordings, ‘Alegria’ (2003), which contains the master’s compositions featuring, in addition to his regular quartet, a large orchestra with horns, woodwinds and strings, and additional guests, such as Brad Mehldau, Terri Lyne Carrington and the Weather Report alumnus Alex Acuña.
Wayne Shorter has had a long, varied and incredibly productive career. He has been, deservedly, recognized by the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz with a Lifetime Achievement Award (2013) and with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2014). We must be grateful to Michelle Mercer for bringing us a biography that is well-researched, intimate and provides the readers and listeners a look into the life and mind of this creative genius.
February 28, 2022
Although this biography of Wayne Shorter was first published in 2004, and the subject is still very much alive as of early 2022, Michelle Mercer does a great job of summarizing the musician's life up until the very early twenty-first century. The book ends with the formation of his latest acoustic quartet (with Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade) which still works well, since Shorter's most recent recordings have featured that same group.
Shorter is a Buddhist and well-known for his non-linear, philosophical conversational style, so Mercer deserves a great deal of credit simply for being able to craft a coherent biography of a somewhat elusive subject. But the composer himself fully cooperated, so the book is filled with meaningful reflections on his life and work.
As with any book about jazz, it's a significant challenge to capture the essence of the music in words, but Mercer is a musically literate writer. She comes as close as anyone can to articulating some of the technical components that are the foundations for Shorter's prolific compositions, and she manages to deliver a highly readable book about a highly significant figure in world music history.
Shorter is a Buddhist and well-known for his non-linear, philosophical conversational style, so Mercer deserves a great deal of credit simply for being able to craft a coherent biography of a somewhat elusive subject. But the composer himself fully cooperated, so the book is filled with meaningful reflections on his life and work.
As with any book about jazz, it's a significant challenge to capture the essence of the music in words, but Mercer is a musically literate writer. She comes as close as anyone can to articulating some of the technical components that are the foundations for Shorter's prolific compositions, and she manages to deliver a highly readable book about a highly significant figure in world music history.
May 1, 2023
RIP Mr. Shorter. You will always be one of my favorite voices in jazz. Both on the composition side and performance side (no one solos like you!).
That said, I've had a love/hate, up and down relationship with this book. I actually started it about 10 years ago and for some reason never finished it. But on my bookshelf, it remained.
It was Wayne's passing this year that prompted me to finish it. So I decided to start over and reread it. Upon doing so, I am reminded of perhaps why I put it down in the first place; I don't particularly care for the writing style of the author. Don't get me wrong; the book is clearly well researched and it's clear that she has a deep interest and care for the the subject. I just feel like certain topics could have been expanded on (such as Wayne's childhood and family background) and others could have discussed less (like Miles Davis!)
Overall though, this is a very informative telling of legendary career of a spectacular human being (even if it only scratched the scaped the tip of the proverbial iceberg)...
That said, I've had a love/hate, up and down relationship with this book. I actually started it about 10 years ago and for some reason never finished it. But on my bookshelf, it remained.
It was Wayne's passing this year that prompted me to finish it. So I decided to start over and reread it. Upon doing so, I am reminded of perhaps why I put it down in the first place; I don't particularly care for the writing style of the author. Don't get me wrong; the book is clearly well researched and it's clear that she has a deep interest and care for the the subject. I just feel like certain topics could have been expanded on (such as Wayne's childhood and family background) and others could have discussed less (like Miles Davis!)
Overall though, this is a very informative telling of legendary career of a spectacular human being (even if it only scratched the scaped the tip of the proverbial iceberg)...
March 22, 2023
La vita di Wayne Shorter abbraccia un arco temporale e artistico immenso, fin da bambino questo grande artista è stato una persona dal temperamento filosofico ha sempre voluto approfondo ogni aspetto della sua esistenza e della vita. Ogni amante del jazz conosce Shorter e la vastità delle sue conoscenze e della sua strepitosa carriera dalle big band degli anni ‘50 fino ad arrivare a far parte della band di Miles Davis, poi il jazz rock dei Weather Report, la carriera solista e le sue collaborazioni anche con Joni Mitchell e tanti altri. Un uomo che ha anche sofferto molto ma ha sempre superato e affrontato ogni dolore con tenacia e grazie al suo credo buddista è riuscito ad approfondire ogni aspetto della sua vita e soprattutto il suo più grande dolore la sofferenza per la figlia Iska vissuta solo 14 anni e affetta da problemi neurologici gravissimi. Una vita intensa. Da leggere.
January 9, 2018
Respectable read about a jazz great.
It is strange though to read a biography about the "life and work" of an artist who has continued to perform over ten years after the book was published, including creating the fantastic 2013 album Without a Net.
It is strange though to read a biography about the "life and work" of an artist who has continued to perform over ten years after the book was published, including creating the fantastic 2013 album Without a Net.
April 21, 2020
The legendary Wayne Shorter is a creative genius! What really struck me was how many of my favorite songs are his compositions! Moreover, the span of his career and the ongoing, evolving reinventions were inspiring to me as an artist and human.
April 23, 2023
Miles Davis: You see the way Humphrey (Bogart) threw that punch?
Wayne Shorter: Yeah.
Miles: Play that.
Wayne Shorter: Yeah.
Miles: Play that.
July 23, 2024
A deep dive into the music and life of Wayne Shorter, including his influences and those influenced by him. While it occasionally lost me in the musical weeds, it's very well done.
December 12, 2024
Excellent read, strikes the perfect balance between the personal and the musical story of Mr. Hancock. Makes you realize what a blessing he was to this world, and what we lost when he passed.
July 12, 2023
Quite good. Thoughtful, informative and respectful biography. Good for Shorter fans and jazz fans in general.
June 11, 2010
I've recently become fascinated by the music of Weather Report, particularly its Jaco Pastorius incarnation. And I mostly read this book because I wanted to know Shorter's take on Jaco Pastorius, seeing how unique Jaco was and how problematic he became over time. Shorter doesn't say much about Jaco, though this silence on Shorter's part is not troubling. The book reveals Shorter as being more interested in knowing when to speak and when to be silent, which amounts to knowing how to shape space via sound: rather crucial for a composer, no? (It's probably important for every artistic endeavor.) Shorter doesn't waste words and often speaks in elliptical phrases, but there always seems to be a kernel or nugget of gold hidden in the words, which can be said of many of his compositions and the concert improvisations he makes during the performance of such compositions. The book also reveals the range of Shorter's life: his involvement with Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Joe Zawinul in Weather Report, Joni Mitchell by way of Jaco Pastorius, all the way up to his present day work with Brian Blade and Danilo Perez.
If the book confirmed anything, it is the Deleuzian idea that individuals are not individuals, but are rather assemblages of the other "assemblages" with which they interact: the names are merely abbreviations used to give us a sense of coherence or simply a reference point (among many other reference points) with which to frame or delineate discourse. Shorter was a part of so many different other musicians' lives that to try and write a biography of his life necessarily requires biographies of all the other so-called "individual lives." Which really means that to come close to understanding Wayne Shorter would require reading the biographies of all the other composers/musicians with whom he interacted, to say nothing of the biographies of his family. This biography doesn't do that, which is not a criticism of it; it is simply a criticism of the biographic genre. In the end, the criticism of this book is that it felt too much like an extended magazine article. If Shorter is the silent giant of jazz that the author contends, then I think he needs to have a gigantic and overwhelming biography, the kind that Robert Moses or Lyndon Johnson received from their biographer. It's really a 2.5 star book, but because there is no such option, I have to round up.
If the book confirmed anything, it is the Deleuzian idea that individuals are not individuals, but are rather assemblages of the other "assemblages" with which they interact: the names are merely abbreviations used to give us a sense of coherence or simply a reference point (among many other reference points) with which to frame or delineate discourse. Shorter was a part of so many different other musicians' lives that to try and write a biography of his life necessarily requires biographies of all the other so-called "individual lives." Which really means that to come close to understanding Wayne Shorter would require reading the biographies of all the other composers/musicians with whom he interacted, to say nothing of the biographies of his family. This biography doesn't do that, which is not a criticism of it; it is simply a criticism of the biographic genre. In the end, the criticism of this book is that it felt too much like an extended magazine article. If Shorter is the silent giant of jazz that the author contends, then I think he needs to have a gigantic and overwhelming biography, the kind that Robert Moses or Lyndon Johnson received from their biographer. It's really a 2.5 star book, but because there is no such option, I have to round up.
July 6, 2008
The reviews on Amazon aren't good but it was a good read. Mercer writes well. It doesn't particularly seek to be objective. Shorter cooperated and wrote the preface (Herbie Hancock handled the forward.) It's an interesting text on which to reflect on this extended conversation of black quirkiness and/or black nerds. I recoiled at some of her commentary but generally found it to be a good read.
November 12, 2013
An intimate look into the mind of a true genius. Wayne Shorter known to some as "sphinx" for his seeming "unknowability" is richly brought to life in this book. Shorter is a genius who thinks more profoundly and more deeply than most humans and composes music at an astounding rate. A magnificent book about an abundantly productive and amazing mind.
April 14, 2013
The title is true. Michelle Mercer balances Wayne Shorter's music and life. A beautiful portrait of each and their relationship. Wayne Shorter is such an amazing musician and person. I knew the first before I read Footprints. Footprints reinforced the first for me and revealed the second.
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July 31, 200892S
May 19, 2013
A well written biography on one of the most important jazz musicians of our time. If you are interested in jazz, or in the music of Wayne Shorter, this book is indispensable.
June 20, 2025
I love you Wayne Shorter. :)
October 27, 2025
Really good overview of Wayne Shorter's brilliant life! Captures the essence of his persona while also detailing his milestones and achievements
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