The New Woody Shaw Quintet - At Onkel Pö´s Carnegie Hall, Hamburg 1982 (Remastered) (2020) [Official Digital Download]

Extraordinary talented jazz trumpeter Woody Shaw recorded at the zenith of his personal development in 1982, accompanied by a sensational group of musicians. The group includes drummer Tony Reedus, bassist Stafford James, the pianist Mulgrew Miller and the trombonist Steve Turre, who became one of the new young voices of the jazz trombone shortly afterwards. Shaw's playing was characterised by technical perfection (just as those of his role model Freddie Hubbard) and a hands-on approach when it came to sound and tonality; Shaw was extremely fast when he wanted to be but never lost the clarity of his musical language. At the same time, everything he narrated on stage seemed to be told for the very first time - his colleague Randy Brecker described Shaw as "the last in a line of trumpeters, who really added something new to the art of the jazz-trumpet" and furthermore, he "really invented a new language".

"It is a positive sensation and pure joy to be reminded of an extraordinary and very special musician by this current release – as Woody Shaw disappeared from the personal jazz-universe of way too many people after his early and tragic death in May 1989. Unjustly of course – Shaw represents a position in the recent history of the jazz trumpet, which hardly ever before nor after was painted so clearly, so precisely and with so much energy: as the quivering and delicate virtuosity of a coeval, who has absorbed virtually all earlier traditions – modernity and awareness for history as the spirit of jazz. Furthermore, Woody Shaw was at the zenith of his personal development as an artist at the time of the performance at Onkel Pö's Carnegie Hall on 13 January 1982; just imagine what he might have achieved had he lived longer than for just seven more years… He was accompanied by a sensational group of musicians. All of them subsequently made news as artists in their own right: the drummer Tony Reedus as well as the bassist Stafford James, the pianist Mulgrew Miller and especially the young trombonist Steve Turre, who alongside Lester Bowie became the new young voice of the jazz-trombone shortly afterwards and who gave orientation to a whole generation. Band leader Woody might have guessed it, when he (unlike many other band leaders in this CD series Live aus dem Onkel Pö) introduced the members of his band right after the opening song: modest, friendly and appealing as always. Woody Shaw was a true master of his trade; People like him are missed in this business, which is usually characterised by hubris, not the spirit of humanity. . . . His music – as documented here in this recording of a very intensive concert, as they could be experienced at Onkel Pö, besides the passion-driven, delirious performances by entertainers such as Dizzy Gillespie or blues-fireworks by the likes of Albert Collins – is a huge and important heritage of contemporary jazz. This heritage is now enriched by another sparkling facet. Those who listen, will learn to inherit." (Michael Laages)

Tracklist:
01. Katrina Ballerina (19:29)
02. Announcement I (1:43)
03. Joshua C (17:31)
04. Sunbath (19:02)
05. Announcement II (0:09)
06. To Killa Brick (13:11)

Personnel:
Woody Shaw, trumpet, flugelhorn
Steve Turre, trombone
Mulgrew Miller, piano
Stafford James, bass
Tony Reedus, drums

Recorded January 13, 1982 at Onkel Pö's Carnegie Hall, Hamburg, Germany
Produced by Axel Dürr, Joachim Becker, Stefan Gerdes

Digitally remastered