Jazz Friday: Wayne Shorter

This week I’m featuring Wayne Shorter, who we sadly lost this week.

Wayne was a tenor and soprano saxophone player and tremendously talented. Back when I was a kid I met a guy that played with Wayne in the Army. He explained how Wayne, even back then, was on a different planet from everyone around him. As a kid, I used to listen to his solos with the Jazz Messengers. But he was a fixture in jazz for his entire life, playing both traditional jazz but also with cutting edge bands like Miles Davis’s Second Great Quintet. Then he changed the face of jazz with his participation in Weather Report. In researching for this post I found this great article demonstrating how Wayne changed jazz.

You could listen to any Wayne Shorter album and enjoy it. But if I had to pick one, it’d be the 1966 album “Speak No Evil” (Wikipedia)(Apple Music).

Drafts (Sponsor)

This week, MacSparky is sponsored by Drafts, where text always starts for me. Sometimes, apps need time to grow on me. With Drafts, it was love at first sight. First and foremost, Drafts is a text capture app. You open the app, and you’ve got a blinking cursor. Anytime I need to write down something on my phone. I tap the Drafts icon and get to work.

The thing is, my workflow on the Mac is the same. I keep Drafts in my menu bar. If I’m on a call and want to take notes or jot down a phone number, I click the Drafts icon and go.

But that isn’t all. Drafts is the poster child for third-party apps. You tap the complication, start speaking, and capture text that shows up on your phone and Mac.

In short, Drafts is the place to capture text. For some, that is enough. If you want more, Drafts has that too:

  • Drafts also has a full suite of editing tools.
  • Drafts can automate so your text gets sent to other places.
  • Drafts lets you create actions right in the app.

Drafts is the Swiss army knife for text. I keep it on all my devices all the time. You should too.

That’s not all, Drafts’ developer has a special deal for MacSparky readers. You can get 50% off your first year of a new Drafts Pro subscription with this link. In order to work, this must be redeemed on an iPhone or iPad.

P.S. This post, like all others, began its life in Drafts. 🙂

Mac Power Users 681: Cloudy with a Chance of Beachballs

In the 12 years since its debut, iCloud has grown from a relatively simple service to one that is the glue holding the Apple ecosystem together. On this episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I talk about the various components of iCloud, how they work, and what to do when they don’t.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • TextExpander: Get 20% off with this link and type more with less effort! Expand short abbreviations into longer bits of text, even fill-ins, with TextExpander.
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Automators 122: Nerding Out with Allison Sheridan

Allison Sheridan joins us on this episode of Automators to share her automation workflows. Topics include Keyboard Maestro, Hazel, and more automation tools.

This episode of Automators is sponsored by:

  • Issuu: Get started with Issuu today for FREE or sign up for an annual premium account and get 50% off
  • ExpressVPN: High-Speed, Secure & Anonymous VPN Service. Get an extra three months free.
  • TextExpander: Your Shortcut to Efficient, Consistent Communication. Get 20% off.