Stepping Stones: Live at the Village Vanguard
Reflections
(Liner Notes by Woody Shaw III)
The coherence and sensitivity of the band as a unit, the logic and melodic integrity within each and every solo, the continuity and dialogue between each solo…I believe these are all qualities that my father needed in the band as the means to harbor his musical imagination. This was indeed Woody Shaw’s classic quintet, the group that assisted him in shaping his sound and conception during what was probably one of the heights of his career and musical development.
One of Woody Shaw’s strongest qualities as a bandleader was that he supported his fellow men in developing their own talents. I have often been told that he always expected everyone to write music for the band. On this date, four of the five men brought in original music, and we are able to get a broader sense of these particular musicians’ abilities in an environment that encouraged everyone’s individual and cooperative effort.
Woody Shaw was able to develop a way to reinterpret the innovations of his predecessors in a manner that complimented a new time, with new social, cultural, and artistic values (go ‘head, Pop!). In doing so, he may have even jumped ahead several generations, but that’s okay. That just leaves more time to absorb the great spirit of love and joy that his music possesses. I am truly proud to be part of “the family.” And while I know that, as a musician, I have yet to fully define my own position in this grand jazz scheme, I (and my contemporaries as well) surely have a lot to build upon while settling on our paths and encountering our own unique stepping stones.
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