By Tania Ketenjian

Legendary jazz musician, composer and Buddhist Wayne Shorter is widely regarded as jazz's greatest living composer. He has played with all the other great jazz musicians of his time: John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Chick Corea, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner and countless others. From 1964—1970, he joined the Miles Davis Quintet, composing extensively for the band.  In 1970, Shorter created the fusion group Weather Report. He has recorded over 20 albums in his career and has won several Grammy Awards, last one being in 2004 for Best Instrumental Jazz Album titled Alegria. Beyond that, Shorter is a devout Buddhist and in this interview, while we did speak about music, Shorter took the conversation to a different level, speaking in metaphors about music and life, about trust and understanding. Someone has just handed him his horn and he is holding it in his hand saying he wants his instrument to get to know him.