[Wayne Shorter passed away today, March 2, 2023. He was 89 years old. This is one of my favorite quotes from the legendary jazz musician, originally published on the site Dec. 2, 2008]

This is Wayne Shorter on jazz:

“If you’re playing something that’s supposed to sound like it’s supposed to be . . . and you’re perfecting this mandatory expression with mandates all around it, it’s nothing more than a statue,” says Shorter. “Like polishing a statue.”

It’s further pinpoints a similar point Wayne made earlier about jazz moving forward. The quote is from a Boston.com article about Wayne’s 75th Birthday Celebration.