Repost from @thejazzestate • Happy birthday to the great Wayne Shorter who was born on this day in 1933. Shorter is counted among the most influential hard-bop musicians and was a pioneer of jazz-rock fusion music. He was also the recipient of many Grammy Awards throughout his career. Shorter’s improvising was notable for its great harmonic and rhythmic sophistication. His early tenor saxophone solos, inspired by Sonny Rollins, featured rare formal unity using thematic improvisation techniques, often with drama and humor. Shorter came to prominence 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. He has recorded over 20 albums as a bandleader. Here, he is performing his composition “Footprints” with Miles Davis on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums live in 1967. Footage colorized by YouTube user ebjazz93.