Here’s what Mosaic Records does better than anyone else; they focus on an artist that is either undeservedly overlooked, or they laser beam onto an era of someone that deserves re-assessing. In this case, it’s a little bit of both. Trumpeter Woody Shaw, who left this earth way too soon, never seemed to get the accolades he deserved. Although he was the logical baton carrier from Freddie Hubbard, most of his career was simply a series of “almost” and “if onlys.” Here, Mosaic puts together all of his wonderful Muse sessions, and if you are able to find Mosaic’s earlier collection of his Columbia sessions, you’ve done yourself a big favor.
This 7 cd set starts with Shaw’s first ever session as a leader, In the Beginning which includes a couple stunning beauties in Shaw’s own “Cassandranite” and Joe Henderson’s “Tetragon.” The sidemen here are some of the heaviest of hitters, Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Larry Young, Joe Chambers, Paul Chambers and Ron Carter make this a forward looking hard bop session. Fast forward a decade to Love Song and Shaw mixes and matches with soon to be long term partner Steve Turre/b as well as a Coltranesque Azar Lawrence on “The Moontrane” and “They are only Dreams.” A highly percussive team with Cecil McBee produces some free flying and propulsive undercurrents on “Sanyas” and “Katrina Ballerina.” 1976 has Shaw in full modal form with a macho front line with Turre, Billy Harper/ts and Rene McLean/ss-as on “Zoltan” and on Little Red’s Fantasy altoist Frank Strozzier adds some heat on the title track, “Sashianova” and “Tomorrow’s Destiny.” The writing by the teammates is quite impressive here; this is material that needs to be re-assessed by today’s generation.
In 1976, Shaw brought together a band that included McLean, Chambers, Louis Hayes/dr, Ronnie Mathews/p and Slide Hampton for a concert in Berlin that has everyone stretching out with a collection of consistently exciting solos. Back in the studios, Shaw takes a slight veer to the left with the likes of Anthony Blythe/as, Anthony Braxton/reeds and Muhal Richard Abrams/p for some highly entertaining takes of “ Jitterbug Waltz” and “Iron Man” to a free form Jackson Pollack sonic treatment of a tune “Diversion One” but climaxes with a no holds barred piece “Song of Songs” that will stay with you long after it’s said and done. He gets back to basics in 1983 with a quartet date with Cedar Walton/p, Buster Williams/b and Victor Jones which includes a gorgeous reading of “All The Way” and “What’s New?” that feature a glowing and autumnal horn by the leader.
By the last discs from 1986 and 87, Shaw is reaching his artistic zenith while still under the appreciative radar. The 86 set has him in a quartet setting with Kenny Barron/p which includes a hot little take of (of all things!) “The Woody Woodpecker Song” as well as a reading of Sonny Rollins’ “Solid” with a young Kenny Garrett/as, sitting in. Just as marvelous is the last session just two years before his untimely death in 1989 has his sound revealing nothing about his diminished health, as he, Turre, Ray Drummond/b, Carl Allen/dr and Kirk Lightsey/p delivering high BTU ratings on burning versions of standards such as “Stormy Weather,” “If I Were A Bell” and “Dat Dere.” Sparks fly throughout these sessions and there isn’t a hint of artistic compromise during the entire boxed set. A booklet by Woody Shaw III is highly insightful, making this limited edition of 5000 sets a must have for jazz fans. Get it before it sells out, as it definitely will someday soon.
Mosaic Records
www.mosaicrecords.com