Wayne Shorter
Tenor Sax Solo on
Mahjong

About

Wayne Shorter's tenor saxophone solo is the second of two improvisations on this recording, following Tyner's piano. Taking three choruses of the 28-bar AABA form in F at 172 BPM, Shorter navigates his own Latin-inflected composition with the angular intensity and melodic unpredictability that defined his playing during this fertile period. His three-chorus solo builds on the foundation Tyner establishes, the Latin groove providing rhythmic momentum that propels his characteristically searching melodic explorations.

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