Woody Shaw: The Goat and the Archer

Ive never understood why it took so long (almost five years from the date of his first breakthrough sideman dates) for Woody Shaw to release his first album as a leader. (The excellent session he recorded at Rudy Van Gelders in 1965 was not released until the late 1970s.) In Lester Koenigs West Coast label Contemporary, Woody finally found a company with the vision to present his music and group leadership. Woodys first release for Contemporary, Blackstone Legacy, from 1970, was a somewhat sprawling affair, with plan and instrumentation seemingly informed both by the Miles Davis expanded ensemble of Bitches Brew (Miles's sideman of the time Gary Bartz was an important force on Blackstone) and the larger setups of late Coltrane and contemporaneous Pharaoh Sanders (with whom Woody recorded around this time). The music, though, was strong and distinctly Woodys, and at least one jazz classic came out of the first date pianist George Cabless Think On Me. On Woodys second Contemporary date, Song Of Songs, the format tightened up a bit, and over the years this record has become my favorite of the two sessions (which is not to say you should pass over Blackstone!). The Goat and the Archer is a blues, played harmonically and formally freely with standout solos from Cables and Woody. The introduction to this song, as well as the theme, uses the descending fourth structure lick, seemingly derived from the opening of Coltranes A Love Supreme, that to me shouts Woody! In the theme and the opening of Woodys solo, the major/minor 3rd ambiguity beloved of Woody (and of one of his favorite composers, Bartok) is on display.