Billboard : 07/19/1975

Trumpeter Woody Shaw‘s premier on this label features sessions from last December that showcase some of the finest young musicians in the world. Included are pianist Onaje Allen Gumbs, Azar Lawrence, Buster Williams, Cecil McBee, Steve Turre, Victor Lewis, Tony Waters and Guilherme Franco. All of them are featured in solo performances throughout the body of the music. Shaw has personally never sounded stronger. This is good straight ahead jazz with a modern twist to it.

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Cashbox : 08/09/1975

Recorded last December, the trumpeter turns in a sparkling performance aided by soloists like Azar Lawrence (sax), Steve Turre (trombone), Onaje Allen Gumbs (piano), Buster Williams, and Cecil McBee (bass). All are featured prominently while Shaw’s playing remains energetic and creative throughout. A finely crafted LP where each player’s performance reinforces the next while Shaw’s overriding strength as a soloist and leader keeps it all together.

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Boston Phoenix
Bob Blumenthal : 07/29/1975

Some new and not-so-new (though unheralded) trumpets are filling the void created as Byrd and Hubbard pursue greater fame and fortune. Woody Shaw, who has been something of a poor man’s Hubbard for much of the past decade, gives further indication that he can invest Freddie’s brassy, aggressive approach with personal melodic turns. His Moontrane draws on McCoy Tyner sidemen and spirited young New Yorkers (trombonist Steve Turre, pianist Onaje Allen Gumbs) for a mixed bag of contemporary hard bop which includes waltz, Latin, ballad and straight-ahead blowing. The aforenamed sidemen and Azar Lawrence contribute a tune each, with two from Shaw; Azar and Woody both solo with intense eloquence in a beautifully balanced album. Meaty blowing sessions of this type have become too rare – Lawrence’s Bridge Into the New Age was the last of this quality.

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Denver Post
Grant Tyson : 08/24/1975
Muse Records Shows Class in Jazz Albums

There is a record company out there that understands. It understands musicians. something one finds very, very rarely. One just assumes that a record company is there to make bucks, period; when suddenly, out of the blues comes a label that is genuinely concerned with promoting musicians who possess a certain amount of musical integrity. Incredible!

Jazz always has been an admittedly esoteric product. It appeals to a small, sophisticated audience that pays to listen rather than drink and dance. Jazz requires an effort on the part of the listener; the ear must connect with the mind for all those odd sounds to make sense. It is the abstract art of music.

One of the basic reasons jazz has enjoyed such a limited percentage of the record companies’ budgets is that it is by definition an experimental medium. It follows no set formula; its rules are necessarily set by the musicians, not the producers. Therefore, the market is certain to be unpredictable, especially in the case of lesser-known artists. Recording executives prefer the guaranteed profits of “popular music” (country, rock and super-commercial) to the uncertain futures of artistic endeavor. Average musicians often prosper while extraordinary ones remain obscure.

Muse Records feels different. It understands that jazz deserves more exposure and is willing to gamble on it. Two cases in point are Sonny Criss and Woody Shaw, alto sax and trumpet respectively. Both display outstanding talent, drive and inventiveness, yet both have spent their careers underground for want of a forum. Muse Records has provided that forum on two new releases, Crisscraft and Moontrane.

Sonny Criss is a pleasure to listen to. He plays cleanly, powerfully and most importantly, appropriately. He has so many licks under his fingers that he can afford to wail the inspired line over and over and yet never begin to repeat himself.

Years of musical growth in Los Angeles and Paris are evidenced by his totally confident approach to charts that demand a sensitive and accomplished interpretation, such as The Isle of Celia and All Night Long. Backed by an impeccable rhythm section composed of Ray Crawford on guitar, Dolo Coker on piano, Larry Gales on bass and Jimmy Smith playing drums. Criss has produced an album that should stand in the top ranks of saxophone literature. His total improvisational command of the instrument, combined with his tasty ability to blow the right phrase in the right place mark this album as a classic.

The two albums mentioned here mark a commitment on the part of Muse Records that goes beyond the policies of most other record companies concerning jazz. It is a commitment to produce the work of lesser-known players in their own bag, rather than featuring only established stars. This is very important in a medium that is possessed of so many different styles and ideas.

One player who lacks neither ideas nor the ability to express them is trumpeter Woody Shaw. His is a highly arranged, well-thought-out disc, full of homage to Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie and yet unquestionably distinctive in its own right.

With a responsive nine-piece band in tow, Shaw explores a realm of bebop, ballads and blues. His style of improvisation is a surprisingly pleasant blend of Miles-style tonality and a sort of lyricism that is rather like Freddie Hubbard loosened up a taste. The bassist, Buster Williams, is insanely excellent, knocking out solos that must be heard to be believed. If Shaw has indeed been underground for so many years (12, according to the album’s liner notes), his emergence now is warmly welcome and long overdue.

There is another nice thing Muse Records is doing – bringing back liner notes in depth. The trend has been to present an album devoid of liner notes, presumably on the theory the record will speak for itself. Recordings into the early 1960s usually contained copious writings on the back explaining just about everything. Personally, I always kind of liked that. It gave the listener an idea of where the performer was coming from, and maybe even a glimpse into where he was trying to go. Now, Muse has come back with the in-depth analysis of the artists history.

To the jazz aficionado, Muse Records and its artists have done a service. Hopefully the company will continue along these conceptual lines, providing good solid jazz for the serious listener and a profitable outlet for talented, noncommercial musicians.

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Loyola Greyhound
Bert Waters : 11/12/1976

Trumpeter Woody Shaw continues to impress. Since beginning in 1963 with Eric Dolphy, and moving ahead with Horace Silver, McCoy Tyner and Art Blakey among others, jazz people have been anxiously anticipating the night he would become a leader outside of the recording studio. The time has come, and he fulfills the expectations of a leader completely: as a player, conductor, orchestrator and spokesman. Such an arrival is so special these days when so many young musicians are hastily trying to hit the jackpot and receive exposure via the shortcuts of electronic overindulgence, only to exhibit a dearth of ideas along with a diverse technique. Woody Shaw has paid his dues as a sideman for nearly fifteen years, and the knowledge and humility of this extensive experience is providing some of the freshest and most stimulating jazz of the seventies, or ever for that matter.

Shaw has brought together a superb mixture of talent for his septet, blending experience with youth: experience in the likes of tenor-soprano saxist Frank Foster, pianist Ronnie Matthews, drummer Louis Hayes and himself; and youth in the likes of alto-soprano saxist and flutist René McLean (the great altoist Jackie McLean‘s son), bassist Stafford James and trombonist Clifford Adams. After warming up with an adequate delivery of The Moontrane, a Shaw original dedicated to John Coltrane, they found the groove with an up-tempo jam of Softly, As In a Morning Sunrise which spotlighted the swinging pyrotechnics of Frank Foster that established him as the prime soloist in Count Basie‘s band while only a youngster two decades ago. His versatility was actually producing the timbre of a trumpet at times. Next they moved into a mellow mood with a thickly textured rendition of Freddie Hubbard‘s Sunflower. In this piece only Adams and Shaw soloed while the horns and the rhythm section cushioned their turns throughout. Woody was at his best here with the concise, sharp darting sounds that are his trademark.

For the second set, they began with a McLean composition, Land of the Blacks. Here McLean really concentrated on the fluid melodicism so characteristic of his father, but Clifford Adams used his turn to outdo Foster for the most rousing solo yet by pumping up to one climax after another, with more strength each time after his resources seemed exhausted. The audience responded with a second standing ovation. Jean-Marie, a Ronnie Matthews waltz written for his wife, was a lovely experience in ensemble passages, particularly as everyone interweaved with unpredictable highs and lows behind Rene McLean’s long soprano excursion – one of the loveliest I ever heard. So far Shaw’s steady performance had been overshadowed by the surprises pulled by Foster, Adams and by the impeccable plucking of Stafford James, but Woody now revealed a double-barreled surprise. With the audience totally wiped out by the melodic waltz, they were now informed that the group was “going outside,” or playing free-form. Immediately a few signs of disapproval began to pop up, but the group began with a riff that commanded everyone’s attention as they launched into Obsequious, a tune from Shaw’s latest LP. This was undoubtedly their tour de force. Everyone took his turn at swinging his ass off before the real fun began which proves that jazz must be seen as well as heard. Shaw, the leader, brought McLean the youngster to center stage and engaged in a cutting test with him, with the support of the rhythm section, and spontaneous horn embellishments by Foster and Adams, amidst hollers and howls of approval. Shaw and McLean traded solos with maturing intensity as the usually cool altoist was twisting and bending to hang in with Shaw. And did he hang in! Shaw had to lean back nearly parallel to the floor before he snapped back with one last running blast to close out the match to yet another standing ovation. “Hell,” everyone seemed to say, “let ’em keep on playin’ outside.”

For the concluding set they performed Sanyas, a Latin-inspired tune that is built on the solo progressive bass chants laid out by Stafford James. Here we were able to see and hear the contemplative and absorbing relationship between the musicians and their instruments, the musicians themselves and between the musicians and we the audience. Frank Foster had his last big fling on the next song, I Can’t Get Started, as he turned the tenor inside-out with his throaty runs in the deep registers while also making sensible interpretations with prolonged squeaking before punctuating the end by playing his soprano and tenor in unison (one in each hand) a la Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Shaw followed with an equally awesome solo that featured his adept tone shaking. Finally they closed out with an exercise in be-bop with Matthews, James and Hayes mercurially manipulating their axes. This was particularly satisfying since Matthews was poorly miked most of the evening. Louis Hayes, perhaps the most exposure-deserving jazz drummer, was playing with unaccustomed weight – a thicker, heavier sound – than he usually does, to the septet’s advantage, and he’s still the excellent master on the cymbal ride.

As I noted earlier, Woody Shaw is a true leader partly by virtue of his conducting, and by speaking to his audience. He’s an inspiration by the way he gesticulates his directions free of inhibition and his articulate descriptions of his program, his associates and audience were very illuminating. He’s got enthusiasm. Like he said during the concert: “This is an unusual group, but we’re gonna keep it together in the name of jazz. Jazz isn’t gone… It’s right here!”

Selected Woody Shaw Discography:
as a leader:
Blackstone Legacy (Contemporary)
The Moontrane (Muse)
Love Dance (Muse)
with Art Blakey: Buhaina (Prestige) Anthenegin (Prestige)
with Bobby Hutcherson: Cirrus (Blue Note)
with Chick Corea: Inner Space (Atlantic) with Gary Bartz: Home, Live at the Left Bank Jazz Society (Milestone)
with Roy Brooks: The Free Slave, Live at the Left Bank Jazz Society (Muse) with McCoy Tyner: Extensions (Blue Note)
with Eric Dolphy: Iron Man (Prestige) with Jackie McLean: ‘Bout Soul (Blue Note)

About the Famous Ballroom and the concerts: I’ve been requested to answer some questions about the Left Bank Jazz Society’s doings, so I’ll say if you’re interested, then go without reservations. The audiences are well mixed racially, age-wise and class-wise – there is never any friction. Don’t let the tales of the Saturday night cabarets discourage you because the Left Bank isn’t affiliated with those functions. There are no advance ticket sales and seating is first come-first serve and friendly. The box office opens at 3:30 p.m., concerts begin at 5 and last until 9 with usually two 30-minute intermissions. Soul food and beer are sold at very modest prices, but you’re welcomed to bring along your own picnic and refreshments. Admission for the public is $5.50; $4.50 for members. A membership is available for $5.00 and applies to 47 concerts. Finally there is always a good chance to converse with the musicians (all of international recognition) during intermission. All concerts are on Sunday. Call 945-2266 – Jazzline for more information.

For Nov. 14: the Leon Thomas Sextet
Nov. 21: the Archie Shepp Quintet featuring Grachan Moncur III
Nov. 28: the Stan Kenton Orchestra

Oh yeah – the Left Bank Jazz Society is a non-profit, cultural organization; proceeds going to future bookings and activities for members and the public alike. L.B.J.S. is in its twelfth year.

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San Francisco Examiner
Thomas Albright : 08/03/1975

The Moontrane, Woody Shaw‘s first album for Muse Records, brings his wondrously supple, pure-toned trumpet into the company of a very together septet that includes Azar Lawrence on saxes, Steve Turre on trombone, Onaje Allen Gumbs on piano and Buster Williams alternating with Cecil McBee on bass. The 12-minute performance of Turre’s Sanyas is the piece de resistance of the five bands, his raw, scorching trombone underscoring Lawrence’s sinuous soprano and Shaw’s spare, controlled, logically unfolding melodic lines. Gumb’s Only Dreams displays Shaw’s warmly lyrical way of shading a ballad, and Lawrence’s “Tapscott’s Blues” serves as a take-off point for some hot, post-bop, jam-like blowing.

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Down Beat : 11/20/1975
Herb Nolan : 5 stars

At a time when the record market is saturated with electric-formula-fusion LPs, Woody Shaw‘s Moontrane is indeed refreshing. With his first album in several years as a leader, Shaw has chosen to work in a standard acoustic format using traditional horn voicings and rhythms.

As a player, Woody has a wonderful lyric imagination and a style rooted in the musical turf plowed by Kenny Dorham and Lee Morgan. His tone is crisp, at times flirting at the edge of brittleness, yet it’s a sound that can be broad and mellow as on Gumbs‘ lovely melody Dreams. And throughout the recording it’s Woody’s biting attack that reaches out over the ensemble, leading but not dominating.

The band itself is a superb one, with instrumentation that makes it similar to a little big band. Lawrence provides strong but not frantic reed support. His solo on the title track, for example, is beautifully constructed and organized within a limited blowing space. Turre, who’s played electric bass in Chico Hamilton‘s recent bands, is a trombone player with good range and a fresh style.

The rhythm section is led by Gumbs, who likes building excitement with interesting chord progressions, and it is as cohesive as it is pulsating. The inclusion of Waters‘ congas and Franco‘s percussion provide additional rhythmic layers and textures. Both McBee, who is heard on all but the first two tracks, are broad toned players who are continually active within the shifty rhythmic framework of each piece.

The compositions for Moontrane represent the writing of four of the musicians in this spirited, close-knit unit. Shaw penned the title track and the beautifully melodic Katrina Ballerina, Lawrence contributed the hard driving Tapscott’s Blues, Gumbs offered Dreams, a complex ballad with shifting tempos, and Turre wrote Sanyas, the album’s longest track. The latter is an intense polyrhythmic composition with a variety of textures and colors, ranging from Franco’s talking drum to McBee’s acappella bass passage.

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Liner Notes by Michael Cuscuna

By the end of 1974, Woody Shaw had resettled in New York after several years on the West Coast where this brilliant trumpeter kept a rather low profile. Now, after twelve professional years in the jazz realm, Woody Shaw has laid plans to organize and build his career as a leader.

The odds against a Woody Shaw in 1962 were many. Gigs were not that plentiful, and a handful of players from the fifties held the spotlight and made most of the money. When Woody’s first record date with Eric Dolphy was released, one reviewer made the rather brazen and ridiculous assumption that Woody Shaw was merely a pseudonym for Freddie Hubbard. It’s rather funny that no one had mistaken Hubbard for Ted Curson or Lee Morgan in his early years. So it goes, as Kurt Vonnegut would say.

Woody’s presence on the New York jazz scene became felt when he associated himself with the impeccable Blue Note roster in the mid sixties, recording and writing tunes for Jackie McLean, Horace Silver, Andrew Hill, Larry Young and many others. His playing and compositions showed incredible maturity and strength from the very start.

Gigging as a sideman in New York is one of the quickest routes to dying poor and unnoticed. So by the end of the decade, Woody Shaw ventured West to base himself in San Francisco. On the Coast, Woody made his album debut as a leader for Contemporary Records with an impressive two record set entitled Blackstone Legacy. Another album on that label followed two years later.

Woody was gigging with some old friends and some new friends out there, often going on the road with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, with whom he still works on occasion. But in 1974, Woody Shaw felt a need to establish his identity, to ‘make it,’ so to speak.

His time away from the New York scene gave the trumpeter a chance to evaluate, plan and compose. He returned to New York playing with a full deck. This record is the first manifestation of that.

If Woody was a bit nervous and anxious in the first planning sessions for the album, it was because he cared so much about the results. I believe the results are excellent, a product of the work and creative energy that this musician has invested in his music.

This is no blowing date. Nor is it a formulized imitation of the current sound in jazz. It offers a great variety of textures and settings in which a group of musicians have acquitted themselves beautifully.

The first session on December 11 produced Woody’s Moontrane and Onaje’s Are They Only Dreams. Moontrane was first heard with a very different arrangement on Larry Young’s Unity album. Onaje’s tone poem is a beautiful, complex piece, meticulously arranged by the composer. We had intended to cut a version of Buster William‘s Firewater, but time had run out.

There were some minor hassles that day that left Woody with a slight uneasiness. In fact, we were so preoccupied that we weren’t even sure that we had gotten anything out of the session. Listening to the tapes a week later, I wondered how we could have had any doubts at all.

However, for the second session, we came in with a more organized situation and settled in to getting the music on tape. We kicked off with Steve Turre‘s Sanyas, a spirited Latin piece with many textures. It is the longest and most spirited piece on the album. For those who may not be familiar with the name of Steve Turre, he was trombonist with Art Blakey for several years and is currently playing electric bass with Chico Hamilton. At the opening of the tune, by the way, that very haunting sound is Steve playing the conch or horn-shaped sea shell.

Woody’s new composition Katrina Ballerina was next, a lovely, rich piece dedicated to Woody’s great lady. Incidentally, Katrina is herself an excellent musician, specializing in classical piano.

Azar Lawrence in his younger years was under the musical wing of the great West Coast pianist and composer Horace Tapscott, who unfortunately has only made one album under his own name. Azar’s composition is the tribute Tapscott’s Blues. This was the closer of the evening. It was just past midnight. The group was sounding as though it had been together for years. The vibrations were great. Everyone’s spirit had been lifted by the music, the newborn sense of confidence and camaraderie.

Each composer on this album was so interested in following things through, that he came to the mixing session to see their tunes to the final stage. I think everyone cared so much because Woody did. And his spirit and willingness to work hard were infectious.

This project was a delightful experience. The album will add a great deal to Woody Shaw’s career and his talent will come into a new focus. Before long, Woody will be hitting the road with his own ensemble. In the meantime, we have a lovely, varied, well thought-out album by this first rate musician.