What a year this has been for Wayne Shorter. His 80th birthday. His successful ventures into classical composition for a highly-acclaimed Los Angeles concert. His Blue Note CD Without a Net garnering five-star reviews almost everywhere, including Jazzwise (though, regrettably, this particular writer isn’t as enthusiastic). And now comes what for me is the crowning glory. David Weiss, the arranger-composer responsible for, among others, the Charles Tolliver Big Band and, most recently, The Cookers, has assembled an exceptional all-star mini big band to play his outstanding enhancements and expansions of Shorter songs, some of which you’ll be familiar with, some you won’t. ‘Fall’, a major high-spot, came from Miles’ Nefertiti; ‘Mr Jin’ (from Indestructible) and ‘Eva’ (a bonus cut on the CD of Riverside’s Ugetsu) from his Messengers days; ‘Nelly Bly’, the up-tempo opener from his brief stint with Maynard Ferguson in 1959; and, the most progressive track of all, a 15-minute chamber jazz suite that evolved from 2003’s ‘Capricorn II’ (from Alegria), now renamed ‘Prometheus Unbound’. There’s also a striking Weiss composition (‘Turning Gate’) based on Wayne’s ‘Joy Rider’. The scores throughout are totally inspired and harmonically majestic. Recorded live at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, the precision of the band is exceptional (great lead trumpet by Urcola). With impressive use of dynamics, it swings like mad and there are some really brilliant solos by almost everyone, but especially Jeremy Pelt (exquisitely poignant on ‘Fall’ and stratospherically Hubbard-like on ‘Prometheus’), Geri Allen throughout, Ravi on ‘Fall’ and Marcus on ‘Turning Gate’ and ‘Unbound’, while Burno and EJ at their very best constantly provide the driving force. Great material. Great arrangements. Great band. Great album.