| ''Everything I'm touching, there's something my wife
is telling me,'' Mr. Shorter says. ''And I gotta listen. She's saying that
there's something more than money, real estate, the old shell game. I just want
to have a comprehension of the essence of life, to have a cognizance.'' He
stops and thinks about it. ''I like that word cognizance. Most people are too
caught up in 'concept.' '' Then he made his voice full of bluff and pomp to
mimic the company man, the ad man or at least the person who believes in the
words finished and first: ''What's your concept?''
--Wayne Shorter (as told to Ben Ratliff, The New York Times) |