Wayne Shorter Movies

Ordinary music soars to extraordinary heights as gifted keyboardist Herbie Hancock joins forces with a variety of well-known music superstars to offer a completely original listening experience. As Hancock collaborates with such artists as Paul Simon, Annie Lennox, Sting, and John Mayer, the cameras are permitted into the studios and behind-the-scenes to show just what happens when some of the greatest music minds of a generation converge. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Over 30 years after Carlos Santana released his first album, he enjoyed the greatest success of his career with Supernatural, in which the gifted guitarist and his band joined forces with some of pop's leading hitmakers, exposing his fiery fusion of blues, jazz, rock, and Latin sounds to a whole new audience. Santana: Supernatural Live is a live video that captures Santana and his band on stage, playing hits both new and old with special guests Rob Thomas (from the group Matchbox 20), Lauryn Hill, Dave Matthews, Everlast, Sarah McLachlan, and Wayne Shorter. Songs include "Smooth," "Oye Como Va," "Make Somebody Happy," "Maria Maria," "Do You Like the Way," and "Africa Bamba." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Love Crimes, an erotic thriller directed by Lizzie Borden, explores the psychology of a con man posing as a photographer, who seduces women and then blackmails them using humiliating, revealing pictures he has taken of them. David Hanover (Patrick Bergin) preys on the hopes of women by offering them love and a possible career as fashion models. When some of the women complain, but refuse to aid in Hanover's prosecution, DA Dana Greenway (Sean Young) becomes obsessed with catching Hanover, to the point where she tracks him down and spys on him in his secluded home, making herself a potential victim. He catches her and holds her captive. Feminist filmmaker Borden, who also directed the remarkable, low-budget film Working Girls, raises interesting questions regarding sex, humiliation and male-female relationships, but the film is spoiled by the ambiguity of her central character, Dana. An abused child herself, she has the same self-loathing that the other woman who are preyed upon by Hanover possess, but her motivations for her actions remain murky. Despite these flaws, Borden, always an interesting filmmaker, raises important issues which perhaps can't be adequately resolved using the restrictions of the thriller genre. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Spike Lee's 1990 directing effort is a jazz film, the story of a fictional trumpeter named Bleek Gilliam (Denzel Washington). He leads a quintet at the Beneath the Underground club with a flashy saxophonist named Shadow Henderson (Wesley Snipes). Though Shadow takes a few too many solos, everything seems fine in Bleek's life. Trouble soon arises, however, and he is forced to make decisions regarding both his best friend Giant (Spike Lee), and his relationships with two women. Giant, his manager and old pal, is addicted to gambling and often gets roughed up by thugs looking for pay back. Bleek is the only member of the quintet who wants to keep him as manager. The trumpeter's woman problems concern trying to decide between two girlfriends who both love him: a schoolteacher (Joie Lee) and a singer (Cynda Williams). Spike's father Bill Lee scored the film, with contributions from Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Abbey Lincoln and Ruben Blades (who plays Giant's bookie). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Legendary guitarist Carlos Santana takes the stage with longtime friend and revered jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter in this performance captured live on stage at the 1988 Montreaux Jazz Festival. With unforgettable renditions of such hits as "Once It's Gotcha", "Spiritual", and "Europa", this is one concert that fans of both artists will want to revisit time and again. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The great jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter pays tribute to one of the true legends of American music, John Coltrane, in this concert taped at Japan's Select Live Under the Sky jazz festival in 1987. Joining Shorter on stage are Dave Liebman on soprano sax, Richie Beirach on piano, Eddie Gomez on bass, and Jack De Johnette behind the drums; selections include "Impressions," "After the Rain," "Naima," "India," and "Mr. P.C." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A French music lover befriends a once-great American jazz artist and attempts to save him from self-destruction in this moody drama. Saxophonist Dexter Gordon portrays Dale Turner, a fictional musician inspired by a number of famed jazz figures, including Bud Powell and Lester Young. Largely forgotten in his home country, Turner has moved to Paris in search of a more appreciative audience. He finds it in the form of Francis Borler (Francois Cluzet), a bebop aficionado who befriends the expatriate player. Borler soon becomes familiar with Turner's darker side, including his struggles with alcoholism, drug addiction, and depression. Fearing for the musician's life, the fan becomes his caretaker, an arrangement that leads to a brief improvement in Turner's health and fortunes but places great emotional strain upon them both. Director Bertrand Tavernier pays great attention to the visual and aural details of the jazz world, with outstanding musical supervision provided by Herbie Hancock. 'Round Midnight's greatest asset, however, is Gordon's Academy Award-nominated performance, informed by his own life experiences. His naturally fascinating presence combines with the film's obvious love of the music and its milieu to provide what many have hailed as one of the more authentic and affectionate presentations of the jazz world on the silver screen. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This jazz themed compilation release features three separate ensembles headlined by tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter: one shot in Tokyo in January '61, another shot in Paris in November '59, and a third shot in Stockholm, Sweden in October '67. Selections include: "Blues March," "A Night in Tunisia," "Moanin'," "Footprints," and "Are You Real?" ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide