1986 · Album
Woody Shaw With Tone Jansa Quartet
Recorded 1986 · Muse · Reissued: Mosaic Records (2013) as part of Woody Shaw: The Complete Muse Sessions
Tone Janša's Woodwind Conversation With Shaw
Janša's woodwind work lifts Shaw's trumpet into unexpected harmonic territory throughout this 1986 session.
What makes Solid distinctive is Tone Janša's woodwind voice. Shaw was a confident, sometimes combative trumpet player, and pairing him with a saxophonist or clarinetist could have meant competition. Instead, Janša creates space — weaving around Shaw's phrases rather than trading blows with him. The rhythm section of Renato Chicco on piano, Peter Herbert on bass, and Dragan Gajic on drums holds steady, but it's Janša who shapes how Shaw moves through these tunes. His voicing choices, the way he'll drop out and let Shaw breathe, then return with a counterline that reframes what just happened — that's the album's real engine.
Recorded in 1986, Solid came late in Shaw's working life, and it shows a player comfortable enough to let others define the sound. He's not the dominating force on every moment. Janša gets to lead on his own terms. The piano and bass work is solid, unshowy support, which is exactly what the session needed. This wasn't a blockbuster release, but it captured something real: five musicians listening to each other and finding something that worked.
The album was released on Muse and later reissued as part of Woody Shaw: The Complete Muse Sessions (2013), which gave it a second life for listeners who might have missed it the first time around. It's not Shaw's most famous record and won't be anyone's entry point to his music, but for those already familiar with his work, it's worth the time.
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