What has always appealed to me about Mr. Shorter's music is his keen skill at balancing the familiar with the unexpected. This well-written book follows this principle in its own way, and with great success: a seemingly straightforward biography of a musician reveals anecdotes and commentary that allow greater understanding and appreciation not only of Mr. Shorter's creations, but of those with whom he collaborated. For example, learning that the bass and drum fills during the "head" of "Dolores" were actually composed sections of the tune, having the late Tony Williams' revolutionary "anti-music" philosophy introduced as the catalyst for the adventurous "Plugged Nickel" performances, and reading Joni Mitchell's remarkable analysis of the recorded version of "Nefertiti" have allowed me to embrace Mr. Shorter's music from perspectives I wasn't previously aware of, which in turn has augmented my enjoyment of it. I highly recommend this engaging, entertaining, informative and insightful profile of an extremely influential saxophonist, composer and human being.

so: it's much difficult to write about a musician like Wayne, that is: 1) still alive 2) the incarnation of the current jazz avantgarde 3) way beyond us common mortals as for spirituality and personal fulfillment on this planet. Well... maybe!!! Who knows!!!

Michelle wrote this book and reading it, for me, has been a pure joy, since I have Weather Report melted somewhere in my DNA since I first heard them in 72/73. This book was long due and finally someone wrote it. God bless you Wayne. God bless you Michelle.