DescriptionThere are certain figures in jazz that quite often stand apart as being crucial to the development of the music and its history. Louis Armstrong will always be remembered as one of the first jazz innovators. Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie are known as the leading men of bebop. Miles Davis was one of the first figures to bring the cool movement to the public’s attention. Wayne Shorter helped shape the course of modern jazz after 1960, and as such, he is the focus of this study. Part one of this thesis focuses on Shorter’s life. It starts with an overview of Newark, New Jersey and its place in the jazz realm during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, when Wayne Shorter was a child growing up in the Brick City. Subsequently, chapters 2–6 trace Shorter’s career development. I also discuss Shorter’s personal life and the many trials and triumphs that defined his adult years. Part two traces the progression of Shorter’s compositional development. Using four different types of theoretical analyses, this thesis examines four compositions from four distinct stages of Shorter’s career. Chapter 7, the first chapter of part two, provides an overview of the four analytical methods used that include Roman numeral analysis, neo-Schenkerian analysis, neo-Riemannian analysis, as well as an analysis of the thematic development of each piece.