"Wild Flower" is a waltz from Wayne Shorter's Speak No Evil, recorded for Blue Note Records in December 1964. The composition features a 64-bar ABAB' form in B-flat that gives each of the three soloists room for a single chorus of improvisation. Shorter's tenor saxophone solo is characteristically enigmatic, his phrases seeming to float above the waltz rhythm with an independence that suggests multiple simultaneous time streams. Freddie Hubbard follows with a trumpet chorus that brings his trademark brilliance and rhythmic authority to the waltz feel, his playing more grounded rhythmically than Shorter's but equally creative harmonically. Herbie Hancock's piano chorus completes the solo sequence with inventive chord voicings and melodic ideas that reharmonize the composition in real time. The waltz tempo, slightly brisk at 161 BPM, creates a propulsive momentum that the soloists use to generate long, flowing lines. Ron Carter and Elvin Jones provide a rhythmic foundation of extraordinary flexibility, their interplay creating a constantly shifting rhythmic landscape. Wild Flower demonstrates the remarkable cohesion of this quintet, five master musicians creating music of collective beauty.
