WOODY SHAW
Blackstone Legacy (Contemporary)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Trumpeter Woody Shaw's second shot as leader was a bullseye. Blackstone Legacy, both the album and the song, takes the listener on a journey down a winding river of invention as sure to thrill avant-garde buffs as it is to baffle the uninitiated. And yet I'd recommend it for the jazz listener who is just getting his or her feet wet. The underlying current is just cohesive enough to get the listener through the complex performances, and once you've made it through, you go back again and again, because this is a wonderful addiction. Repeat listenings bring new clarity. What seemed aimless and uncontrolled on first listen suddenly appears to be a series of lightning-fast reactions to all the other seemingly aimless, uncontrolled, lightning-fast sounds, until it all makes crystal clear sense. This makes Blackstone Legacy a great starting point for newbies. Veteran listeners, too, will be knocked out, not only by the sheer talent of the septet (Shaw on trumpet, Gary Bartz and Bennie Maupin on sax, George Cables on piano, Ron Carter and Clint Houston on bass, and Lenny White on drums), but by the clever use of differing elements. Standard post-bop instrumentation is augmented at times by a bass clarinet, a fusion-tinted electric piano, and two terrific bassists, one in the right channel and one in the left. So no matter what your skill lever as an avant-garde jazz listener, put this one on the high priority list.

© 1999 - DJ Johnson