Footprints: The Life and Work of Wayne Shorter

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.

Michelle Mercer has done the seemingly impossible: she has fully inhabited the far-out imagination of one of our greatest, and at times, seemingly most unreachable musicians, and brought back the subject from the outer space he's been confined to. Yes, it's a book about jazz; but only, truly, as an explication of life. Yes, it's a biography, but it's neither a Pollyana bio-pic nor is it a psychobabble psychobiography. Additionally, despite the affirming names of Shorter and Herbie Hancock on the cover, this effort is hardly an as-told-to "approved" bio. It's actually quite wonderfully like its subject: funny, strange, compelling--and as serious as your life.

This is book is amazing. I am neither a jazz expert nor a Wayne Shorter authority, but this book "puts me there." It's good writing if I want to continue with a story with which I am not familar and this book does just that. I am educating myself in the world of jazz and this is the best book I've come across yet.

This book is not a biography in the vein of Jack Chambers' Miles bio. For me, it provides a greater service: the author's close access to her subject allowed her to get to the heart of Shorter's creative process, spirituality, and personality. This is no small accomplishment, as Shorter is known for being an enigmatic character. Future biographers will write academic overviews of his career, but Mercer capitalizes on her first hand access to do something more valuable. She lends understanding to the themes and motifs that define the fascinating artist's life. When you listen to Shorter's music, it's clear his sound comes from a very unique place. Footprints gives us a clear idea of where Shorter's coming from.

this book is both a loving, objective view of the still undervalued shorter's career, and a much-needed antidote to the dull, fact-laden jazz bios which have lumbered down the pike here of late. i would recommend it even if you were not familiar with shorter's career.