Teru is a jazz ballad composed by Wayne Shorter during his prolific period between 1959 and 1966, a stretch that produced many of his most enduring works. The composition is a slow, introspective piece typically taken at around 55 beats per minute, featuring sophisticated harmonic language with extended chords and colorful voicings characteristic of Shorter's writing. Critics have noted a Strayhorn-esque quality to the tune, comparing its lyricism and art-song sensibility to the work of Billy Strayhorn. Shorter's own interpretations emphasize a vibrato-less, vocal-like delivery that highlights the melody's expressive depth rather than rhythmic or harmonic complexity. The tune first appeared on Shorter's 1966 Blue Note album Adam's Apple, recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio with Herbie Hancock on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums. On AllSolos, Wayne Shorter's tenor saxophone solo from this session is available alongside Hancock's piano solo and Workman's bass solo. Teru has remained part of the working jazz repertoire, and its inclusion on the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra's 2015 tribute album The Music of Wayne Shorter, which featured Shorter himself as soloist, affirmed its standing as a significant entry in his catalog. The composition balances Shorter's more angular, modernist works with a piece of pure lyrical beauty.
