Woody Shaw recommendations?

[riverrat]

Please excuse the cross post, but I'm casting a wide net ISO responses!

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After listening to "The Moontrane" via headphones last night, I resolved to expand my supply of Woody Shaw.

I also have "Two More Pieces of the Puzzle" and "Lotus Flower". I ordered "Little Red's Fantasy" before I went to bed, and I can see that "Stepping Stones" is another must have.

Reading through the extensive thread in the "Artists" forum, it seems its hard to go wrong with virtually any Shaw date.

Couple of questions though:

1. Are the CBS recordings available on CD other than the OOP Mosaic?

2. In view of the fact that Shaw has (thankfully) a rather extensive catalog, are there any particular OOP CD reissues that I should focus on before they become even more difficult to find and expensive? Some of the 32 Jazz reissues seem to fit this category.

Thanks in advance!

[Guest donald petersen]

i would check out the OJC "song of songs" since it seems like OJCs are disappearing. this is probably my favorite shaw album i have heard. i found most of the muse stuff boring-my favorites are "the iron men" and the "live at the berliner jazzstage" one which i probably just misspelled. in regards to that live one, there is also a swiss radio days live CD out there from a 1977 show which i bought at tower so you can probably find it online. this one has a slightly different lineup but is in a similar vein (maybe too much overamped louis hayes? and no slide hampton). but it is good.

[sal]

His "Live" albums on High Note are excellent and all worth acquiring.

[B. Clugston]

Song of Songs and Concert Ensemble at the Berliner Jazztage are musts. The latter was coupled with The Iron Men on a 32 Jazz release. Rosewood is pretty good, though it has a dated sound. The CD reissue also includes three songs off of For Sure! The other CBS stuff remains un-reissued other than the Mosaic set and Stepping Stones.

Also, pick up Larry Young's Unity.

[B. Goren.]

This double album Woody Shaw recorded with Geri Allen, is a must:

[Eric]

I would seek out the Mosaic set - it sold slowly when in print and hopefully you can find it for a reasonable price. Some of the best mainstream jazz of the 70s IMHO.

There is hardly any bad Shaw. All the Muse/32 Jazz titles are interesting and good. I really like the"Love Dance" lp, which does not get mentioned much. My personal favorite from this era is "Little Red's Fantasy". His "demo" record (never released at the time) is also quite good - it finally came out on Muse.

He did seem to crank out a lot of live albums after the end of the Columbia era. You probably don't need *all* of it - I would sample one of the High Note CDs as suggested above.

He also shows up as a sideman on a number of late 60s Blue Note albums. Lot's of good choices there too.

Edited June 12, 2007 by Eric

[sidewinder]

I would recommend also the Mosaic set.

Plus get hold of Larry Young's 'Unity', Tyrone Wasington's 'Natural Essence' and McCoy's 'Expansions (the latter in particular has some really nice Woody).

One that doesn't get too many mentions is the quartet album 'In Your Own Sweet Way' on the In & Out label (from Germany I think). Wonderful live performance from very late in his career.

Another good one is Neil Swainson's '49th Parallel' on Concord. Not sure if this one is still in print but as a bonus it also has Joe Henderson in the front line. A ringer of a session.

[sidewinder]

'Lotus Flower' on Enja is also a favourite of mine - for the band with Steve Turre and Mulgrew Miller. That was one of the greatest lineups of the 1980s IMHO.

[Niko]

i got jackie mcleans demon's dance for christmas and liked shaw so much on it that i got several of his leader cds since then, Blackstone Legacy, Little Red's Fantasy, Rosewood and Dr Chi... none of these I regret buying, but for me only Little Red's Fantasy comes close to Demon's Dance (followed by Blackstone Legacy, then Dr Chi and then Rosewood...)

( so my recommendation: get Demon's Dance)

[sal]

Yeah, Demon's Dance is insanely good!

[Guest donald petersen]

you think so? i bet it was slightly disappointing for those that were alive at the time.

i also enjoy it. "insanely good" is a pretty high praise, though.

but i do have a feeling it wasn't highly regarded when it came out.

chuck?

[Guest donald petersen]

actually maybe it didn't come out the year it was recorded. hmmm.

but did mclean fans feel "demons dance" was a step backwards?

[sal]

you think so? i bet it was slightly disappointing for those that were alive at the time.

i also enjoy it. "insanely good" is a pretty high praise, though.

Its one of my top 5 Jackie McLean sessions, and I hold his BN catalogue in an extremely high regard. Its some of my favorite music.

Anyways, don't mean to hijack the thread.

Woody Shaw sounds excellent on this one.

[Niko]

you think so? i bet it was slightly disappointing for those that were alive at the time.

i also enjoy it. "insanely good" is a pretty high praise, though.

but i do have a feeling it wasn't highly regarded when it came out.

chuck?

sounds "insanely good" to these ears... that those who regretted that Wayne Shorter didn't play more like Albert Ayler didn't enjoy it back then, ok... that not everyone loves the cover art as much as i do, ok (same with little red's fantasy btw) but it is insanely good, Shaw is great on it, Jack DeJohnette is great, and LaMont Johnson was a really nice surprise...

[riverrat]

"I would check out the OJC "Song of Songs" since it seems like OJCs are disappearing..."

Good tip, ordered a used copy from Amazon for $9. The other one they had was $40. Not available there new. half.com has it for about $20 used. Walmart.com does still have it new for about $13.

I'll choose one of the High Notes (Vol. 3 has been mentioned as a favorite).

"Two More Pieces of the Puzzle" (which I have) includes both "Iron Men" and the live in Germany session.

I also own "Demon's Dance" and "Unity". I personally like "Demon's Dance" a lot, whereas I really have to be in the mood for some of Jackie's more "out" sessions. DD strikes a nice balance, IMO, semi-adventurous just like me... Maybe that is why I like Woody's "Moontrane" so much, it is in a similar vein.

"Bemsha Swing" seems to already be hard to find and spendy. I'll keep my eyes out. In the meantime, there are lots of affordable Woody sessions to pick up.

Thanks for all the tips folks!

[Late]

Here's how I'd prioritize a Shaw-binge:

1. Blackstone Legacy — a killer debut

2. Stepping Stones — a "must have" in my opinion

3. Swiss Radio Days (Lausanne, 1977)

4. Song of Songs — looks like you ordered it already

5. The three High Note Volumes — you'll eventually want them all

The hard one to find, but worth searching for, is:

• The Moontrane (Muse)

In fact, I'd scoop up just about anything on Muse when you see it — Love Dance, Imagination, etc.

You're in for a huge treat!

[LAL]

This double album Woody Shaw recorded with Geri Allen, is a must:

It's out of print, and used copies are mighty expensive.

[jostber]

There's a great collection too:

Larry Young's Unity is a must.

[king ubu]

Here's how I'd prioritize a Shaw-binge:

1. Blackstone Legacy — a killer debut

2. Stepping Stones — a "must have" in my opinion

3. Swiss Radio Days (Lausanne, 1977)

4. Song of Songs — looks like you ordered it already

5. The three High Note Volumes — you'll eventually want them all

The hard one to find, but worth searching for, is:

• The Moontrane (Muse)

In fact, I'd scoop up just about anything on Muse when you see it — Love Dance, Imagination, etc.

You're in for a huge treat!

There are four High Notes by now (I only have Vols 1 & 2 so far).

Will have to look for "Song of Songs" and the Enja... never found a copy of the later so far.

[riverrat]

Let me know how it goes searching for "Song of Songs" over there king ubu.

Walmart still shows it in stock here, for about $13 US. If they won't ship to Europe, I could order it and ship it to you.

The Enja website lists "Lotus Flower" as available, but who knows if this is actually true:

Lotus Flower

Edited June 13, 2007 by riverrat

[Late]

Didn't know that about the High Notes. Good news.

Bemsha Swing can be had (I think) as a Japanese import these days. It might even be cheaper than used U.S. copies. However, once I actually check, the Japanese import will probably be out-of-print too.

The Eric Dolphy dates that Shaw is on are pretty good too. I used to imagine a session after Out to Lunch which would be something like: Dolphy, Woody Shaw, Jaki Byard, Richard Davis, Alan Dawson.

[riverrat]

Didn't know that about the High Notes. Good news.

Bemsha Swing can be had (I think) as a Japanese import these days. It might even be cheaper than used U.S. copies. However, once I actually check, the Japanese import will probably be out-of-print too.

The Eric Dolphy dates that Shaw is on are pretty good too. I used to imagine a session after Out to Lunch which would be something like: Dolphy, Woody Shaw, Jaki Byard, Richard Davis, Alan Dawson.

Late, if you are aware of a place to get Bemsha Swing in a Japanese version, please let me know! That is one I'm definitely ISO...

Edited June 13, 2007 by riverrat

[king ubu]

Let me know how it goes searching for "Song of Songs" over there king ubu.

Walmart still shows it in stock here, for about $13 US. If they won't ship to Europe, I could order it and ship it to you.

The Enja website lists "Lotus Flower" as available, but who knows if this is actually true:

Lotus Flower

Hm, I'll have to wait a month or two before buying more CDs, but thanks for the offer!

[skeith]

My favorite that has not been mentioned:

Last of the Line

Edited June 13, 2007 by skeith

[B. Goren.]

This double album Woody Shaw recorded with Geri Allen, is a must:

It's out of print, and used copies are mighty expensive.

Try to contact Studio 52. I orederd it from this online store after it went oop for a reasonable price.