AN EARLY RESIDENT

Mar. 19—LAURINBURG — Woody Shaw was an American jazz trumpeter who was born with a photographic memory and perfect pitch. He is known for advancing the technical and harmonic language of modern jazz trumpet playing, but what some may not know is — he was born in Laurinburg in 1944.

According to Wikipedia, in his time, he was viewed as a leading innovator on the trumpet. He was also an acknowledged mentor among musicians and worked and recorded alongside many of the leading jazz legends of his time.

When he was a year old, his parents moved the family to Newark, New Jersey, where his well-known talent was discovered.

Shaw began playing the trumpet at the age of 9 and performed in the Junior Elks, Junior Mason and Washington Carver Drum and Bugle Corps in Newark. However, trumpet was not his first choice.

Shaw explained in a past interview, "The trumpet was not my first choice for an instrument. In fact, I ended up playing it by default. When we were asked what we wanted to play in the Eighteenth Avenue School Band, I chose the violin, but I was too late since all the violins were taken. My second choice was the saxophone or the trombone but they were also all spoken for. The only instrument that was left was the trumpet, and I felt why did I have to get stuck with this 'tinny' sounding thing.

"When I complained to my music teacher that I didn't think it was fair that all the other kids got to play the instruments they wanted, he told me to just be patient," Shaw continued. "He said he had a good feeling about me and the trumpet, and he assured me I'd grow to love it. Of course, my teacher was right, and it didn't take long for me to fall in love with the trumpet. In retrospect, I believe there was some mystical force that brought us together."

According to his biography, Shaw sat in with countless musicians as a teenager. Some of those included Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley, Lou Donaldson and others in Newark. Along with playing in the local youth bands, this gave him a solid basis in the jazz and African American musical tradition.

Later in life, Shaw's song "Rosewood" was voted the No. 1 record in the nation in 1978.

During the 1980s, Woody toured with several different groups which included musicians like Kenny Garrett, Terri Lyne Carrington, David Williams, Ronnie Burrage, Kirk Lightsey, Ray Drummond and Cedar Walton.

Shaw also conducted numerous workshops and clinics around the world during the 1980s.

Shaw died from kidney failure on May 10, 1989, at the age of 44. He had been hospitalized prior to his death, due to a fall. It was reported that he fell onto subway tracks in front of a moving train and most of his left arm was severed. It is believed the accident occurred because Shaw was legally blind due to retinitis pigmentosa.

It is unknown where Shaw was laid to rest.

After his death

Between the years of 2003 and 2013, there was an upflow of interest in Shaw's music.

In 2003, Shaw's son, Woody Louis Armstrong Shaw III, created the official Woody Shaw Website, which helped to reinvigorate Shaw fans and gather appreciation for Shaw's contribution to music. Since then, many of Shaw's out-of-print recordings have been reissued, remastered and repackaged, under the oversight of Shaw's son and producer Michael Cuscuna.

Shaw III was the primary inspiration for his father's third Columbia album, "Woody III," which Shaw dedicated to his father and newborn son. He is the sole heir to the Shaw family legacy.

Today, Shaw III preserves his father's legacy through the production, management, archiving and preservation of his father's life's work. As of 2013, it was said he would be authoring the first official biography on his father's life and music. Shaw's legacy is kept active and relevant through the use of social media and the official website.

Woody Shaw III was not available to comment at the time of this article.

For information on Woody Shaw and his music, visit, https://woodyshaw.com.

JJ Melton can be reached at [email protected] To support the Laurinburg Exchange, subscribe here: https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/subscribe.

Woody Shaw

1944-1989