Don Was, Blue Note’s Renaissance Music Man Goes Deep On The Brilliant Musical Legacy Of Wayne Shorter
Don Was is one of music’s most significant artists and executives, exceling in multiple roles and serving as one of the industry’s beacons for integrity and forward-thinking. During this period of disruption and rapid evolution in the worldwide music business, Was remains committed to music as an art form and its importance to contemporary culture. As the President of Blue Note Records since 2011, Was is both the company’s leader and an ambassador for its music, charged with bringing the label’s 21st Century jazz artists and its expanding pallet of contemporary musicians to larger audiences. Was is also caretaker for Blue Note’s singular and historic catalogue of music, and is burnishing the label’s 80-year legacy by overseeing ongoing and extensive reissue campaigns that serve audiences in both the analogue and digital realms.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Don Was grew up listening to Detroit blues, jazz music, and the Rolling Stones. He went on to form the group Was (Not Was) with school friend David Weiss (David Was), noted for their success in the 1980s. Now widely recognized as a record producer, Don Was has worked with artists including Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, Iggy Pop, Ziggy Marley, the B-52s, Elton John, Garth Brooks, Lucinda Williams, Old Crow Medicine Show, John Mayer, Ringo Starr, Willie Nelson, Brian Wilson, Kris Kristofferson, and Aaron Neville. He has earned multiple Grammy Awards including Producer of the Year in 1995. Don Was has served as musical director or consultant on several motion pictures including Thelma and Louise, The Rainmaker, Hope Floats, Phenomenon, Tin Cup, Honeymoon in Vegas, 8 Seconds, Switch, The Freshman, Days of Thunder, Boys on the Side, and Toy Story. He earned a British Academy Award (BAFTA) for Best Original Score in recognition of his compositions for the film Backbeat.
He regularly tours throughout the United States as bassist in the acclaimed trio, Bob Weir and Wolf Bros, and has served as musical director and bassist for a host of major tribute concerts, including those for: Johnny Cash, Jerry Garcia, Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, Dr. John, Gregg Allman, Gregg Allman and Mavis Staples. Was recently curated and hosted a weekend-long series of shows at Boston’s Wang Theatre and Schubert Theatre under the WasFest banner. The shows, which featured Meshell Ndegeocello, Robert Glasper, Dark Star Orchestra, Lettuce with special guest Judith Hill and Steel Pulse, received rapturous reception from audiences and critics alike.
Don Was is featured in the Dorsay Alavi's Zero Gravity, the recently released documentary film streaming on Amazon Prime on the life of Wayne Shorter—released on the 90th anniversary of his birth—takes an in-depth look at the life of one of our most outstanding players, composers and visionaries in the jazz canon. From his childhood in Newark to his work with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, as an integral part of The Miles Davis Quintet of the mid ‘60s, his contributions to the groundbreaking group Weather Report, his own groups, and writing for large ensembles, the message is clear: the openness he embraced throughout his life allowed for the genius to flourish.
Source: https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/birthday-greetings-don/
Source: https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/w/wa-wn/don-was/
Source: https://wayneshorterofficial.com/
Host Maggie LePique, a radio veteran since the 1980's at NPR in Kansas City Mo. She began her radio career in Los Angeles in the early 1990's and has worked for Pacifica station KPFK Radio in Los Angeles since 1994.
