Alegria

Alegria

Following the release of the critically acclaimed <I>Footprints Live!</I>, this CD is saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter's first studio recording as a leader since the Grammy-winning 1994 release, <I>High Life</I>. Shorter is joined by pianists Danilo Perez and Brad Mehldau, bassist John Patitucci, drummers Terri Lyne Carrington and Brian Blade, and percussionist Alex Acuna. Backed by a superb woodwind and brass ensemble, this project offers a comprehensive and sophisticated presentation of Shorter's music, from the Andalusian airs on "Vendiendo Alegria" by Antonio Molina to a reincarnation of "Capricorn II" from his mid-'60s Miles Davis days. Shorter's soprano and tenor playing is his most expressive in years, and producer Robert Sadin (who worked on Herbie Hancock's <I>Gershwin's World</I> and Kathleen Battle's <I>So Many Stars</I>) has provided Shorter with his most poignant sonic setting on record. <I>--Eugene Holley, Jr.</I>