This is the debut album by drummer Paul Shaw as bandleader, although he initially made his reputation as a drummer in military jazz orchestras before becoming a teacher and well-known musician in the Atlanta area. Even though this is a debut, he has provided all compositions himself as opposed to mixing it up with well-known tunes, which is a very pleasant change indeed to many others. He has been joined by Alex Sipiagin (trumpet), Brad Shepik (guitar), Gary Versace (piano) and Drew Gress (acoustic bass) for what is a fascinating and very interesting album indeed. I have always enjoyed jazz albums where the bandleader is the drummer, and in fact the very first jazz album I ever owned (as opposed to playing my dad’s) was Gene Krupa’s ‘Drum Crazy’ (I would like to point out it was actually released before I was born and is now more than 60 years old, but I found it in a shop somewhere when I was about 10). Drummers as composers have a different take on melody and rhythm, as well as the impact of the correct percussion and approach, as well as often using a far wider palette and such is the case here.

All three melody players are happy to take the lead, and each has long sections where they are not involved in the music at all but are quietly sitting it out waiting their turn. Remember, Bruford received a writing credit on “Trio” for deciding not to play at all as the improvisation was going better without him, and this decision was seen as crucial by the others involved. Those decisions are amplified here, so the band move easily between trio, quartet, and quintet, but the section which really surprised me was when Gress actually used a bow. I admit I do not listen to as much jazz as many, but I cannot remember ever coming across that before hearing this. The melodies are often fairly simple and restrained, much more about feel than massive complexity, and it is the drumming which provides that side of it without ever over-imposing itself on the music. The strength in this album is with the arrangements and restraint, and the result is something which becomes far more complex and involved to the ear the more it is played. It may have taken many years for Shaw to release an album in his own right, but let’s hope the next comes along with somewhat more alacrity.

Rating: 8/10

https://open.spotify.com/album/4YEbeJTT03zeRcsImRPRdP?si=JK9eoXqaQ5e4qSeqfy65Ww

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/shawdrums/
https://www.summitrecords.com/