Uploaded March 2023 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
Wayne Shorter - Dramatis Personae (1998)
Wayne Shorter (saxophones), plus orchestra
Lincoln Center, New York, NY, 04/23/98
R.I.P. Wayne Shorter
"Meanwhile, Jazz at Lincoln Center commissioned Wayne to compose and perform some symphonic pieces for its spring program. It was an opportunity for Wayne to finally realize a performance of his broad arrangements in a large setting. He wrote a new composition for small jazz group and chamber orchestra called “Dramatis Personae,” a title he borrowed from theater, which refers to the characters of a play. Robert Sadin conducted the performance, and had a special appreciation of Wayne’s painterly and cinematic musical descriptions at rehearsals. “When rehearsing, Wayne rarely speaks about music in a technical way,” Robert said. “He prefers to describe the mood, or the image, or the motion he envisions. When you read Debussy’s writings, he also resists technical exposition. He and Wayne share a beautiful sense of the evocation of language... and of sound! I don’t presume to ‘explain’ why Wayne does this, but I do know how strongly he wants his musicians or collaborators to draw on all of their personal resources and experiences when they play. A technical explanation, however accurate, might reach the musician but not the whole person.”
At the April 1998 Lincoln Center performance, Wayne played the first half with a small shifting group that included Ryan Kisor on trumpet, Jim Beard and Eric Reed on piano, David Gilmore on guitar, Christian McBride on bass, Herlin Riley on drums, and Mino Cinelu on percussion—a mix of Lincoln Center regulars and his own regular band members. In the second half, this smaller ensemble was joined by a chamber orchestra, debuting “Dramatis Personae”.
(Michelle Mercer, 'Footprints: The Life and Music of Wayne Shorter')
Wayne Shorter - Dramatis Personae (1998)
Wayne Shorter (saxophones), plus orchestra
Lincoln Center, New York, NY, 04/23/98
R.I.P. Wayne Shorter
"Meanwhile, Jazz at Lincoln Center commissioned Wayne to compose and perform some symphonic pieces for its spring program. It was an opportunity for Wayne to finally realize a performance of his broad arrangements in a large setting. He wrote a new composition for small jazz group and chamber orchestra called “Dramatis Personae,” a title he borrowed from theater, which refers to the characters of a play. Robert Sadin conducted the performance, and had a special appreciation of Wayne’s painterly and cinematic musical descriptions at rehearsals. “When rehearsing, Wayne rarely speaks about music in a technical way,” Robert said. “He prefers to describe the mood, or the image, or the motion he envisions. When you read Debussy’s writings, he also resists technical exposition. He and Wayne share a beautiful sense of the evocation of language... and of sound! I don’t presume to ‘explain’ why Wayne does this, but I do know how strongly he wants his musicians or collaborators to draw on all of their personal resources and experiences when they play. A technical explanation, however accurate, might reach the musician but not the whole person.”
At the April 1998 Lincoln Center performance, Wayne played the first half with a small shifting group that included Ryan Kisor on trumpet, Jim Beard and Eric Reed on piano, David Gilmore on guitar, Christian McBride on bass, Herlin Riley on drums, and Mino Cinelu on percussion—a mix of Lincoln Center regulars and his own regular band members. In the second half, this smaller ensemble was joined by a chamber orchestra, debuting “Dramatis Personae”.
(Michelle Mercer, 'Footprints: The Life and Music of Wayne Shorter')
