Playing with Wayne Shorter is something that John Patitucci holds very close to his heart, along with the other the other members of the Wayne Shorter Quartet (Danilo Pérez and Brian Blade). The trio recently released an album called Children of the Light as an homage to their leader, and as pianist Danilo Pérez says, "is our show of love, care and gratitude for all the lessons." The jazz saxophone legend himself joined them on stage recently for a few shows, which judging from the footage which appeared online, were especially cooking.

We recently asked John about the influence Wayne Shorter has had on him and what it was like getting back on stage as the full quartet. He also talks about some of the other things he's been up to as well as his plans for the new year.