Artist: Woody Shaw

Woody Shaw, Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist,  cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator.

In 1963, after many local professional jobs, Shaw worked for Willie Bobo  (with Chick Corea and Joe Farrell), and performed and recorded as a sideman with Eric Dolphy, with whom he made his recorded debut, Iron Man.  Dolphy, who was living in Paris, unexpectedly died in June 1964. Shaw was nonetheless invited to Paris to join Dolphy's colleague, Nathan Davis, and the two men found steady work all over Europe.

While living in Paris, they frequented the club Le Chat Qui Peche, and Shaw crossed paths with musicians such as Bud Powell,  Kenny Clarke, Johnny Griffin,  Dexter Gordon,  Art Taylor, other lesser-known musicians such as John Bodwin, and French musicians like Jean-Louis Chautemps, Rene Urtreger, Jacques Thollot and Jef Gilson.

By the mid-1960s, Shaw had successfully absorbed the concepts and influence of his mentor and friend, saxophonist Dolphy, and was meanwhile exploring the harmonic innovations of saxophonist John Coltrane and pianist  McCoy Tyner. Both musicians contributed greatly to the development of Shaw's style as a trumpeter and composer. 

Shaw returned to the U.S. from Paris in 1965, and began his career as one of the Blue Note labels regular trumpet players, working steadily with their roster of artists. He replaced Carmell Jones in the  Horace Silver quintet (1965–1966) and made his Blue Note debut on Silver's The Cape Verdean Blues, followed by Larry Young's Unity  (1965); the album with Young featured three of his compositions ("Zoltan", "Moontrane", and "Beyond All Limits"). "Moontrane", dedicated to Coltrane, was written when Shaw was 18 years old and was his earliest composition. 

Shaw also collaborated frequently and recorded with Corea (1966–67, 1969), Jackie McLean (1967),  Booker Ervin (1968), Tyner (1968), Andrew Hill  (1969), Herbie Hancock, and Bobby Hutcherson. In 1968–69, he worked intermittently with Max Roach, touring with him in Iran. Shaw also worked as a studio musician and worked in pit orchestras and on Broadway musicals. 

In 1970, Shaw recorded his first album as a leader,  Blackstone Legacy, for  Contemporary Records.  Blackstone Legacy featured  Bennie Maupin, Ron Carter,  George Cables, Gary Bartz, Clint Houston, and Lenny White. This was followed by a second release under Shaw's name, entitled, Song of Songs. During this time, Shaw moved to San Francisco to explore new opportunities, and became closely associated with musicians on the West Coast such as Bobby Hutcherson, Eddie Moore, Eddie Marshall, and Henry Franklin. 

After working frequently with Hutcherson, Art Blakey, Tyner and others, Shaw emerged as a band leader during the early 1970s, which was a time when many jazz artists began to explore jazz-rock. A younger statesman among his elders, Shaw saw himself as an heir to the musical legacy of trumpeters such as Dizzie Gillespie, Fats Navarro, and Clifford Brown, and, being an alumnus of Blakey's Jazz Messengers, felt responsible for upholding the integrity and appreciation of the tradition.