Since the single track editions of Stormy Monday seem to be pretty popular, here’s another one from a recent Wayne Shorter Quartet gig in Philly. The band, featuring Danilo Perez on piano, John Patitucci on bass and drumming superstar Brian Blade, is widely considered to be one of the greatest working jazz units under the direction of the grandmaster jazz composer, but I’m willing to go a step further- it’s the greatest improvisational band on the planet.

While all the band members are down right prolific, not one of them plays with the intensity and ferocity that they do in this setting – the music is volatile, ranging from delicate to moving to explosive. During this gig at the Kimmel Center, the geriatric crowd was literally driven out of their seats by the music. Once the first person broke protocol and left, it was a wave a shawls and canes, like a scene from the stories of that first performance of “Rites of Spring”.

Those of us who stayed got to watch the masters at play in an absolutely stunning setting. Unfortunately I don’t have the Prometheus Unbound encore, but the full set should be enough to spark interest to check out some youtube clips of the band, and their two live releases, Footprints Live! and Beyond the Sound Barrier for the very best jazz has to offer. Enjoy!

Dan Alford

Dan Alford has been a contributor to Hidden Track since the site's first month of operation. He brightens the beginning of our week by sharing a Stormy Mondays mix from his huge music collection.