Wayne Shorter is one of the most important American jazz musicians of his generation. You could call him jazz's greatest living composer. The virtuoso saxaphonist has recorded over 20 albums as a leader, and appeared with others including Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the 1950s, Miles Davis' second great quintet in the 1960s and the jazz fusion band Weather Report, which Shorter co-led in the 1970s.  hear the music of Wayne Shorter tonight on the 9 O'clock special on K-Jazz, 91.5.

Shorter formed his current band in 2000, his first permanent acoustic group. It's  a quartet with pianist Danilo Perez, bassist  John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade, playing Shorter's complex compositions. Two albums of live recordings featuring this quartet have been released, Footprints Live! (2002) and Beyond the Sound Barrier (2005)