Biography

Woody Shaw (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer and band leader, often referred to as the "last innovator" in the jazz trumpet lineage. Shaw is credited with revolutionizing the technical and harmonic vocabulary of the instrument and is considered one of the great jazz composers and band leaders of the twentieth century. Born with a photographic memory and perfect pitch, Woody Shaw is looked upon as one of the major conceptualists and important musical geniuses in the history of jazz, thought to have been generations ahead of his time.