Dance Cadaverous is an instrumental jazz composition written by Wayne Shorter, who is credited as its sole composer. It was first released in 1966 on Speak No Evil, the Blue Note album that was Shorter's sixth as a leader. The album features Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Elvin Jones. The tune is generally classed as hard bop or post bop.
As an instrumental, the piece has no lyrics. It is performed frequently by jazz musicians, and the tune has been taken up by a wide range of players in the decades since its release. Later recordings include versions by Kirk Lightsey and Harold Danko, Larry Willis, Eddie Henderson, Andrea Keller, Stephen Riley, and Sachal Vasandani with Romain Collin.
