Wayne Shorter: Jazz Innovator Passes Away

Legendary jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter has died at the age of 93.


Shorter, who was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1930, was a major figure in the jazz world for more than six decades. He was a member of the Miles Davis Quintet in the 1960s, and went on to become a leader of the jazz fusion movement in the 1970s.

Shorter was a prolific composer, writing more than 100 compositions, including the jazz standards “Footprints” and “Nefertiti.” He was also a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, winning nine awards over the course of his career.

Shorter was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1988, and was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship in 1998. He was also a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2014.

Shorter’s death was announced by his family, who said in a statement that he “passed away peacefully in his sleep.”

The jazz world has lost a giant with the passing of Wayne Shorter. He was a masterful composer and improviser, and his influence on the music will be felt for generations to come. He will be deeply missed.