Milton Nascimento & Wayne Shorter – Lilia

 

From Bret "Jazz Video Guy" Primack.

The collaboration between Jazz legend Wayne Shorter and Brazilian superstar fused two deep traditions into one voice. Milton Nascimento brought Brazil’s Clube da Esquina sensibility: folk-rooted melodies, spiritual openness, and rhythmic fluidity. Wayne Shorter brought his harmonic daring, lyrical saxophone sound, and post-Coltrane compositional language. When they collaborated—most notably on Native Dancer (1975)—the result was unlike typical jazz-meets-Brazil projects. Instead of bossa nova formulas, the album became a dialogue: Shorter’s horn phrasing adapted to Nascimento’s haunting vocal lines, while Nascimento’s songs stretched into jazz’s harmonic and improvisational space. The record influenced later generations because: • It anticipated “world jazz” decades before the term was common. • It bridged audiences: Brazilian fans discovered Shorter, jazz fans discovered Nascimento. • It showed that jazz improvisation could honor, not overwrite, another culture’s song tradition. The emotional weight of Nascimento’s voice with Shorter’s searching saxophone made the collaboration feel intimate and universal at the same time.