Wayne Shorter: Joy Ryder

Wayne Shorters decision in 2000 to return to an all-acoustic format after years of playing in mostly electrified settings was certainly a turning point in the saxophonists career. The quartet, featuring pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade, that the saxophonist began touring with turned out to be one of his best, and the resulting music chronicled on the Footprints-Live and the Grammy-winning Alegria and Beyond The Sound Barrier is among his most challenging and rewarding. "Joy Ryder" is a mostly improvised selection that pairs Shorters acerbic, engaging soprano with the surging, dramatic statements of Danilo Perez. The band holds an underlying pulse through sections of legato and driving swing during the pieces 11+ minutes, and the pulsing polyrhythms of Blade and the unrelenting force of Patituccis bass push Shorter to some of his most thrilling playing on record.