Wayne Shorter
Tenor Sax Solo on
Witch Hunt

About

Wayne Shorter leads off the solos with three choruses on tenor sax, the first of three improvisations on the recording. Taken at a medium swing tempo of 136 BPM over the 24-bar AABACD in C, the improvisation unfolds with comfortable, easygoing swing. Shorter's own three-chorus tenor saxophone solo is a revelation of compositional thinking applied to improvisation, each phrase logically connected to the next with an almost narrative precision. Recorded for the album Speak No Evil in 1964, the performance captures Wayne Shorter at 30 to 31 years old. The track features three soloists navigating Shorter's enigmatic 24-bar AABACD form in C minor at a medium swing tempo.

Wayne Shorter was 30 to 31 years old at the time.