A Shorter Journey to the Stars

The saxophonist Wayne Shorter created compositions of timeless power and beauty. His music from the 1960s in particular is striking for its wealth of tonal colours, rhythmic motifs and melodic shapes. Each piece is a world of its own and follows its own musical laws. Playing these compositions and improvising on them is therefore as challenging as it is exciting.

Matthias Petzold has now put together a quintet to present a whole programme of Wayne Shorter’s pieces. The arrangements offer a new and distinctive sound, with a line-up that differs from the original versions. The analogue Roland Space Echo plays a special part, turning the music into a true “Journey to the Stars” … In this way Shorter’s music comes alive anew and shows itself in all its colour and positive radiance.

The programme was first performed in the summer of 2021 and recorded live at the “Loft” in Cologne. The musical excerpts come from this recording.