Woody Shaw – Trumpet & Flugelhorn
Steve Turre – Trombone
Larry Willis – Piano
Stafford James – Bass
Victor Lewis – Drums
Recorded live at Keystone Corner, San
Francisco in the autumn of 1981
Woody Shaw’s amazing
talents never got the attention they deserved,
it seemed as though whatever he did the
jazz world looked away. This could have
been partly due to his amazing versatility,
which enabled him to fit in with the likes
of Eric Dolphy, just as easily as with
the hard bop of the Horace Silver Band
in partnership with Joe Henderson. Jazz
fans tend to know the kind of music they
like and tend to ignore the talents of
the more versatile.
HighNote have once again
saved some great music from the dusty
shelves and this album demonstrates just
what a remarkable talent Shaw was. His
career was cut short by an appalling accident
on the New York subway in 1989, when he
was only 45 years old. On a personal note
I prefer his playing to that of Miles
Davis, both players have a wonderful melodic
sense, but to me Shaw’s playing exhibits
more warmth than that of Miles
Woody’s front line partner,
and he had many, was trombonist Steve
Turre who has developed into a very fine
player. On this album he sounds a bit
unsure of himself and is definitely in
the "second fiddle" role here.
The Rhythm section however is excellent
Victor Lewis is a fine drummer and his
partners Stafford James on bass and Larry
Willis on piano combine together very
well.
The tune selection is
also interesting, When Lights are Low
is a good standard composition and a fine
jazz vehicle, Woody’s theme statement
is muted and crisp and the solo that follows
is a good example of his interesting approach.
He stays reasonably near to the melody,
but at the same time he takes many harmonic
chances all of which come out well. The
support from Larry Willis is quite Spartan,
but adequate and his solo very inventive.
The Time is Right shows
the group sound off to good effect and
there are some nice bass lines from Stafford
James.
It Could Happen to You
is one of my favourite tunes, it comes
from the ultra reliable Burke/Van Heusen
stable, and once again it shows Woody
at his most inventive.
OPEC is a Shaw original,
which kicks off with drummer Victor Lewis
setting a high tempo that never flags.
It is an ideal example of Shaw’s versatility;
this could easily be a VSOP track.
Bye Bye Blackbird is
delivered with warmth and invention in
a manner not dissimilar When Lights are
Low.
If like me you have missed
out on Woody Shaw in the past get this
CD and prepare to be very pleasantly surprised!
Don Mather
CD Reviews
High Note HCD 7139
