Easy Listening Jazz by Wayne Shorter
I love Wayne Shorter and have been listening to him for a long time. This recording is nothing but easy listening jazz, and would be better suited to Kenny G or even Lawrence Welk. Sure, Shorter plays a few lines here and there that G could never play, and his sound is as recognizable as ever. What's incredibly uninspired are the compositions. The backing ensemble sounds literally like the Lawrence Welk orchestra for the bulk of the proceedings. Again, yes there's a hip harmony here and there - but the great bulk of it is utter schmaltz.If this record had been put out by Kenny G or Lawrence Welk (yeah, I know he's dead) none of these people would be saying "A master at work!!" or "Subtlety at its finest!!". They'd be saying exactly what I'm saying: This is easy listening jazz.A few virtuosic runs and some A-list sideman doesn't save this date or make it something it isn't. Recommended only for Shorter completists, old folks homes and random elevators.