Woody On Blue Note

Listen to the Spotify Playlist

To kick-off Jazz Appreciation Month (aka Woody Shaw® Appreciation Month), we take a moment to remember Woody Shaw's classic recordings as a featured artist on Blue Note Records from 1965 to 1985. 

During the early stages of his career, Woody Shaw collaborated with some of the greatest bandleaders in jazz history, showcasing a rather broad range of versatility and musical ambition as a young and up and coming "sideman" that would foreshadow his later emergence as the two-time Grammy-nominated trumpeter, composer, and highly influential musical innovator of the 1970s and 80s. 

Building upon the lineage of bebop and then what became known as "hard bop" of the 1950s, Woody quickly adopted the modern innovations that began to flourish during the 1960s, proudly following in the footsteps of his predecessors, most notably frontline virtuoso trumpeters such as Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard. Over time, Woody came to inhabit the top tier of leading jazz trumpeters of his generation, working closely with many of jazz's most adventurous and experimental musicians and appearing on some of their most groundbreaking albums.

Throughout this month, we pay homage to some of Woody's collaborations as a featured artist on Blue Note Records with such trailblazers as Larry Young, Horace Silver, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Andrew Hill, Booker Ervin, Bobby Hutcherson and Freddie Hubbard. These recordings not only showcase Woody's immense talent, but also serve as a testament to his influence and impact on the jazz world.

To help you get started, we've put together a special Spotify playlist featuring 'The Complete Woody Shaw Blue Note Sessions' as a featured artist. We recommend listening to this playlist in shuffle mode to fully appreciate the versatility of Woody's output as well as the breadth of his contributions to the Blue Note canon of recorded music.

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