Paul Shaw Quintet: Moment Of Clarity

Paul Shaw is a Jazz educator, session drummer and bandleader who has left his musical mark with projects over multiple decades including The Atlanta Swing Association, the Inside Out Quintet, and United States Air Force Falconnaires Big Band. He studied as a Jazz Studies Major at Georgia State University in Atlanta.  Paul  has played with everyone from Jacques Lesure to CeCe and BeBe Winans. His new release is called Moment of Clarity (Summit Records), and features seven original Jazz compositions that I'll call modern bop. Shaw's group includes Alex Sipiagin on trumpet, Brad Shepik on guitar, Gary Versace on keys, Drew Gress on acoustic bass and Paul Shaw driving the beat on his Tama drum kit. A Good drummer in a quintet stirs the roue--think Art Blakey--and Shaw lets his sidemen shine, only occasionally stepping out to remind you where the heartbeat of these pieces is coming from. We'll play the uptempo Showdown, the final cut on Moment of Clarity, Sunday night to start out the 11pm hour on Mainstream and Modern(Sundays 9p-mid) on Jazz 91.9 WCLK. It reminds me of the best of the late 1950s early 1960s Rudy Van Gelder records, if you want something to pair with a vintage Lee Morgan cut.