Woody Shaw Live, Vol. 1 [Live]

Woody Shaw Live, Vol. 1 [Live]

ASIN: B00004TE0Z

Track Listings

1. Love Dance

2. Light Valley

3. Why

4. Stepping Stone

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Woody Shaw was a major voice in jazz when this recording was made in 1977, a trumpeter with few equals who could balance bravura skills and saxophone-like fluency with inspired invention, whose every leaping solo was an amalgam of cool logic and emotive fire. While many had converted to fusion, Shaw remained loyal to acoustic postbop in its most advanced form, continuing to develop the mix of complex harmonies, modality, and demanding rhythms that had characterized the mid-'60s work of Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, and Herbie Hancock. The tracks here are long--"Love Dance" is over 15 minutes, "Why" nearly 19--but there's no sense of sprawl. It's a band with an intense focus, and each piece is an exploration of a tune's possibilities, whether a dive into a deepening pool (pianist Larry Willis's "Light Valley") or a quest for a molten, expressive core (Shaw's high-speed "Stepping Stone"). Real camaraderie shows in the collective ability to shift direction and in the frequent dovetailing of Shaw's trumpet and Carter Jefferson's blistering tenor and soprano saxophones, the latter sometimes compressed to an oboe-like tone. The horns are driven along by the swarming, fluid detail in Victor Lewis's drumming, Stafford James's darting, propulsive bass, and Willis's insistent, prodding piano. Details of date and venue are missing from the CD, but the sound quality is very good. Only occasional applause and the spirit of the music testify to a "live" recording. --Stuart Broomer

Tracks:

Love Dance
Light Valley
Why
Stepping Stone

Amazon.com

Woody Shaw was a major voice in jazz when this recording was made in 1977, a trumpeter with few equals who could balance bravura skills and saxophone-like fluency with inspired invention, whose every leaping solo was an amalgam of cool logic and emotive fire. While many had converted to fusion, Shaw remained loyal to acoustic postbop in its most advanced form, continuing to develop the mix of complex harmonies, modality, and demanding rhythms that had characterized the mid-'60s work of Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, and Herbie Hancock. The tracks here are long--"Love Dance" is over 15 minutes, "Why" nearly 19--but there's no sense of sprawl. It's a band with an intense focus, and each piece is an exploration of a tune's possibilities, whether a dive into a deepening pool (pianist Larry Willis's "Light Valley") or a quest for a molten, expressive core (Shaw's high-speed "Stepping Stone"). Real camaraderie shows in the collective ability to shift direction and in the frequent dovetailing of Shaw's trumpet and Carter Jefferson's blistering tenor and soprano saxophones, the latter sometimes compressed to an oboe-like tone. The horns are driven along by the swarming, fluid detail in Victor Lewis's drumming, Stafford James's darting, propulsive bass, and Willis's insistent, prodding piano. Details of date and venue are missing from the CD, but the sound quality is very good. Only occasional applause and the spirit of the music testify to a "live" recording. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

excellent bebop cd.......2005-03-16

when i first put this album on, i was amazed. literally, i stopped in the middle of what i was doing, sat down in a chair, and listened. it is a truly excellent album. if you are looking for a really great bebop or jazz album, this is for you. simple as that, it is necessary to own.

The lost genius of Woody Shaw.......2002-07-01

This is a great album, culled from a concert / club performance, in very good sound, with Shaw`s working band w/drummer/composer Victor Lewis. This is the second album I bought with Woody Shaw on it (the other being UNITY with Larry YOUNG 5 stars...). It makes you realize what a great trumpeter / composer Shaw was and what a shame was his early demise... This is the foremost trumpeter of the seventies, and his music is the perfect (missing) link between late 60`s Miles and Trane and today`s jazz scene, which still hasn`t caught up yet IMO... A great CD.

One of the best.......2001-11-27

Great 'Live' album. From start to finish the band plays with an incredible fire and virtuosity.
This is Jazz at its finest.
One of the best in my hardcore-jazz-cd catalog of 800+.

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