Woody Shaw Quintet: Tokyo '81 [Vinyl 1LP 180g]

Straightahead / Mainstream Jazz
premiera polska: 2023-04-01
kontynent: Ameryka Północna
kraj: USA
opakowanie: Gatefoldowe etui
opis:
Editor's info:
NEWLY DISCOVERED TOKYO QUINTET PERFORMANCE. ALL TRACKS PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED.
Elemental Music presents a complete previously unissued quintet performance in Japan by the great Woody Shaw. This remarkable concert features Shaw's classic group with trombonist Steve Turre, pianist Mulgrew Miller, bassist Stafford James, and drummer Tony Reedus. The album includes a 16-page booklet containing special essays by famed jazz producer Michael Cuscuna & by Shaw's son Woody Shaw III, and is presented simultaneously on vinyl and CD (the CD version contains an extra track from the Tokyo concert and a bonus track, both also previously unreleased).
Woody Shaw Tokyo 1981 opens with a stellar rendition of Shaw’s signature tune, the famous 69-bars of “Rosewood,” which is here played at a faster tempo than on the original studio recording. A straight reading of Thelonious Monk’s “`Round Midnight” with gorgeous solos by Shaw and Turre follows. In the ballad “From Moment to Moment,” Shaw shows his softer side and uses his warm, generous tone to its fullest. A swinging reading of Shaw’s waltz “Theme for Maxine,” closes the show. Written for his manager Maxine Gordon, this tune became something of a theme song for Shaw and was a constant presence on his concert set lists. This package also contains a bonus track from a concert of the Paris Reunion Band recorded live in Den Haag, Holland on July 14, 1985. Besides Shaw and Dizzy Reece on trumpet, this ‘80s ensemble of one-time ex-pats included saxophonists Johnny Griffin and Nathan Davis, pianist Kenny Drew, trombonist Slide Hampton, Jimmy Woode on bass and Billy Brooks on drums. Here they dig in on Shaw’s “Sweet Love of Mine,” an oft-covered number, probably best known in versions by Art Pepper and Jackie McLean. This version is highlighted by a heated competition in solos by Shaw, Griffin and Drew and a gorgeous trumpet cadenza by Shaw in the finale.

“Like all great bands, this quintet is comprised of musicians who were destined to play together. The blend and empathy of Shaw and Turre and the interlocking precision of Miller, James and Reedus made for an incredible and original-sounding ensemble. Woody’s passing at age 44 on May 10, 1989 makes the discovery of these new recordings of his music an invaluable addition to his amazing legacy.” - MICHAEL CUSCUNA (2018)

“Throughout the many years of archiving and consolidating elements of my father’s personal and professional legacy, I have been amazed at just how deeply inspired and moved people are by Woody Shaw’s musical spirit, and how increasingly relevant his music has become to the contemporary music world. The recording that you have before you is a testament to the timelessness of Woody Shaw’s legacy, and the relevance of his sound and music to our world today.” -WOODY LOUIS ARMSTRONG SHAW III (2018)

JazzWise * * * *
The Shaw quintet that plays six of the seven tracks on this CD is his last regular working group, and included Steve Turre, Mulgrew Miller, Stafford James and Tony Reedus. And just as he does with his parallel label Resonance, executive producer Zev Feldman has come up here with some excellent previously unknown material, worked on by his colleague Jordy Soley and the doyen of such reissues, Michael Cuscuna. The band plays with huge energy and conviction during this Japanese radio concert. The opening ‘Rosewood’ shows off both the leaders’ characteristic trumpet style and what ideal colleagues he had in Turre and Miller. It’s Mulgrew Miller who leaps out of the ensemble after the head chorus (which has an almost telepathic connection between Shaw and Turre), then there’s an agile Turre solo before Shaw enters with all the dazzling brilliance of his best earlier work, with upward dashing runs and phrases that spray notes around like confetti. On ‘’Round Midnight’ he manages to keep the ballad feel while again launching into occasional flurries of upper register notes that give the sensation of a faster tempo lurking just above the measured rhythm section pace. The rest of the set keeps that clever balance going with the sense that there’s always a huge reservoir of energy in waiting. But just as good as the Tokyo session is, a startlingly brilliant ‘Sweet Love of Mine’ (a Shaw original) by the Paris Reunion Band from a 1985 Dutch concert rounds out the album. Here Shaw is matched by an on-form Johnny Griffin, and a rhythm section that is even more propulsive, with Kenny Drew and Jimmy Woode laying down a fine foundation for some exemplary soloing. All in all – a fine addition to the all too small Shaw catalogue.
by Alyn Shipton

allaboutjazz.com
That trumpeter Woody Shaw is considered "underrated" may be a considerable understatement. Shaw died at age 44 in 1989, but he managed to release 33 recordings as a leader (27 in his lifetime) and worked in collaboration with Gary Bartz, Art Blakey, Chick Corea, Stanley Cowell, Eric Dolphy and most notably with Dexter Gordon, on his 1976 Homecoming: Live at the Village Vanguard (Columbia). His recording, Rosewood (Columbia, 1978), his first major label release, is considered his masterpiece. Shaw's seamlessly melodic 69 bars of "Rosewood" inaugurates the newly found, unreleased performance from Tokyo, December 7, 1981. This release is a sister to the recently released Dexter Gordon Quartet: Tokyo 1975, appropriate as Shaw and Gordon enjoyed a fruitful musical relationship.
Tokyo 1981 contains six selections from the said performance, augmented by a single performance of the Paris Reunion Band recorded at Den Haag, July 14, 1985. Shaw's brand of jazz was very much a product of the period in which he recorded. The trumpeter favored compositions with complex melodic and harmonic elements. Shaw's tone is lyrical with a hard edge. That contrasts well with the fluid playing of trombonist Steve Turre, evidenced on the ballad "From Moment to Moment." This show is closed with two Shaw originals, the modal-extended "Song of Songs," which as introduced is reminiscent of Lee Morgan's "Search For a New Land," and "Theme for Maxine" composed for Shaw's manager, Maxine Gordon (and wife of Dexter Gordon). "Song of Songs" is an outgrowth of the post-bop pioneered by Miles Davis 15 years before. Tony Reedus's drumming is forward progressive and Mulgrew Miller's piano potently clear in a McCoy Tyner sense. Tokyo 1981 is a worthy addition to the Woody Shaw catalog. Is there more of this music lurking in the shadow?
By C. Michael Bailey

muzycy:
WOODY SHAW QUINTET:
WOODY SHAW, trumpet, flugelhorn
STEVE TURRE, trombone, percussion
MULGREW MILLER, piano
STAFFORD JAMES, bass
TONY REEDUS, drums

utwory:
A1. Rosewood (Woody Shaw) 10:40
A2. 'Round Midnight (Thelonious Monk) 15:31
B1. Apex (Mulgrew Miller) 6:59
B2. Song of Songs (Woody Shaw) 16:12
B3. Theme For Maxine (Woody Shaw) 1:05

wydano: Sep 21, 2018
nagrano: Live in Tokyo, Japan, December 7, 1981

more info: www.elemental-music.com