Woody Shaw in 1979: Conviction and Risk
Shaw's trumpet cuts through with urgency and precision, refusing to settle into comfortable patterns.
By 1979, Woody Shaw had already spent years establishing himself as one of the hardest-working trumpeters in jazz, and For Sure captures him in a mode that feels both direct and exploratory. This Columbia recording shows Shaw at a point where he had nothing left to prove technically but remained restless about where his voice could go. The album sits somewhere between the hard bop tradition he'd absorbed and the funkier currents running through jazz at the end of the decade. Shaw's tone is sharp and immediate, cutting rather than smooth, and he phrases with a kind of purposeful urgency that makes even slower moments feel like they're moving forward.
What distinguishes this session is Shaw's refusal to coast. His solos build logically without ever feeling predictable, and there's a conversational quality to how he engages with the other musicians around him. The rhythm section locks in tight, and the overall feel is one of musicians genuinely listening to each other rather than following a template. For a working jazz album from this era, recorded for a major label, it avoids the slickness that sometimes came with that territory. Shaw sounds invested in making each track count.
This isn't Shaw's most celebrated work—that recognition tends to go elsewhere in his catalog—but For Sure is solid and worth hearing if you're following his career through the seventies. It's the kind of album that satisfies without demanding anything special from the listener, and sometimes that's exactly what you want from a jazz record: musicians playing well, material that's worth your time, nothing wasted. For those discovering Shaw, start with earlier work from his Blue Note years, but this one deserves a place in the rotation once you know what he's about.
Who's playing
Stafford Jamesbass
Larry Willispiano
Gary Bartzalto saxophone
Carter Jeffersonsaxophone
Woody Shawtrumpet
Steve Turretrombone
Curtis Fullertrombone
James Spauldingflute
Victor Lewisdrums
Naná Vasconcelospercussion
Akua Dixoncello
Gayle Dixonviolin
Winterton Garveyviolin
Richard Lockercello
Maxine Roachviola
Veronica Salasviola
Veronica Salesviola
Where next?
More by Woody Shaw
All 36 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
