Woody Shaw Quintet: Basel 1980 & Tokyo 1981

The dynamic and musically astute trumpeter Woody Shaw formed his first quintet in late 1977. By the time of the Woody Shaw Quintet’s performance in Basel 1980, pianist Larry Willis and bassist Stafford James had replaced Onaje Allen Gumbs and Clint Houston, while saxophonist Carter Jefferson and drummer Victor Lewis remained in the band. As Michael Cuscuna, producer of many Woody Shaw sessions, writes in his liner notes to this set, “It is a testament to Woody’s leadership that the character of the band, though altered by new members, remained essentially the same.” It’s a typically accurate judgment from Cuscuna, and the proof lies in the high quality of Shaw’s releases over a period of years, plus a number of live recordings that have surfaced since he passed away in 1989. Shaw was a fine composer as well as a trumpet master, and his sets would usually feature a few of his own tunes along with well-chosen standards and jazz compositions. For their Swiss audience, the band presented Shaw’s Stepping Stones and Theme For Maxine, plus tunes by drummer Victor Lewis (Seventh Avenue) and bassist Stafford James (the uptempo Teotihuacan). Dave Brubeck’s In Your Own Sweet Way, possibly his most-frequently covered tune and a favorite of Miles Davis, was also a staple of Shaw’s sets. Another pianist’s popular tune, Thelonious Monk’s ‘Round Midnight also makes an appearance, in a delicately paced performance that features some lovely improvising by Shaw and Willis. The third song penned by a pianist is Joe Bonner’s Love Dance, the title track of Shaw’s 1975 Muse album and a piece he really loved to play. The lone standard in Basel is Bronislaw Kaper’s Invitation, which opens the show. Shaw and company really liked to stretch out when performing for an audience, and they use the time for extended and boldly investigative soloing. Only the closing Theme For Maxine is less than 11 minutes long, and one of the joys of a Woody Shaw set is the continued sense of fresh discovery that the band makes evident on stage. It’s an excellent set, very nicely recorded, and the enthusiastic Swiss audience wanted even more. Our bonus track is a quartet exploration of the Carl Fischer-Frankie Laine standard We’ll Be Together Again, taken from an appearance at the 1981 Lustenau Jazz Festival in Austria. Once again the band has changed, with Mulgrew Miller at the piano and Tony Reedus on drums, with Stafford James still on bass. It’s not as well recorded, and at first the performance is a bit lackluster when compared to the Basel material, but after a sparkling piano solo by the much-missed Miller, Shaw takes charge and plays a powerful solo before taking the tune out. The booklet includes Cuscuna’s notes, an essay by Woody Shaw III, and well-chosen photographs of the musicians. Totally recommended, like pretty much everything that Shaw ever played.

With the addition of trombonist Steve Turre, the same Woody Shaw band that appears on the bonus track from Austria is presented on Tokyo 1981, recorded in December of that year. Shaw and Turre were both members of the 1973 edition of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and they continued to be close friends and musical partners. When I worked as a soundman at Keystone Korner in this period, I had the good fortune to be working on a Monday when the Shaw quintet played for one night while they were either on the way to Japan or on the way back to New York. It was a great night of music, and part of the excitement was the novelty of hearing two brassmen as the front line. From Tokyo 1981's introduction in Japanese, it seems that this set was sourced from a radio broadcast. Kicking off with Shaw’s enduring composition Rosewood, the band is playing at their usual high level of swing and melodic invention. Two songs from the Basel show reappear, Monk’s ‘Round Midnight (with a bravura ending solo by Shaw) and the snippet of Theme for Maxine that concludes the set. The performance includes a compelling extended version of Shaw’s Song Of Songs, which served him well after its debut as the title track of his 1972 Contemporary album. Miller’s churning Apex really inspires Shaw, who tears off a spectacular solo, with drummer Reedus kicking it along in high gear. Another Shaw composition, the mellow ballad From Moment to Moment, was relatively new at the time, but the quintet sounds thoroughly at home with it. Turre’s gravelly solo on the bass trombone is a highlight, as is Miller’s inventive solo. Shaw’s closing announcement, delivered over the introduction to Theme For Maxine, is greeted with warm applause from the audience. I almost found myself applauding at home. The bonus track for this CD is a version of Shaw’s Sweet Love Of Mine, excerpted from a Dutch performance with the Paris Reunion Band, described by Michael Cuscuna as “a collective formed in 1985 by American musicians who had transplanted themselves on the active Paris jazz scene of the late ‘60s.” The tune first appeared on Jackie McLean’s Demon’s Dance, recorded at the end of 1967, and the attractive melody was a staple of the Paris Reunion Band’s book for the three years that the group lasted. The rhythm section of Kenny Drew on piano, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Billy Brooks on drums gives the piece a samba feeling, and Woody plays a genuinely inspired solo before yielding the spotlight to tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, another consummately reliable soloist. We also hear from pianist Drew and drummer Brooks in a series of exchanges with the band before they return to the theme. Shaw’s numerous recordings depict him as ever-evolving and growing as a player, and it’s always a pleasure to savor some newly uncovered examples of his artistry. Recommended, of course.
Basel 1980: Elemental Music 5990432; Woody Shaw (tpt, flgh) Carter Jefferson (ts, ss) Larry Willis (p) Stafford James (b) Victor Lewis (d); Basel, Switzerland, January 16, 1980; exc * Shaw (t) Mulgrew Miller (p) James (b) Tony Reedus (d); Lustenau, Austria, June 20, 1981; Disc 1 (63:57): Invitation/ Seventh Avenue/ In Your Own Sweet Way/ Stepping Stone. Disc 2 (61:47): Love Dance/ ‘Round Midnight/ Teotihuacan/ Theme for Maxine/ We’ll Be Together Again*. 
Tokyo 1981: Elemental Music 5990429; Woody Shaw (tpt, flgh) Steve Turre (tbn, perc) Mulgrew Miller (p) Stafford James (b) Tony Reedus (d); Tokyo, Japan, December 7, 1981; exc. * The Paris Reunion Band [Shaw, Dizzy Reece (tpt) Slide Hampton (tbn) Johnny Griffin (ts) Nathan Davis (ts, ss) Kenny Drew (p) Jimmy Woode (b) Billy Brooks (d); Den Haag, The Netherlands, July 14, 1985; Rosewood/ ‘Round Midnight/ Apex/ From Moment to Moment/ Song of Songs/ Theme for Maxine/ Sweet Love of Mine*; 73:30. elemental-music.com