BY BOBBY REED
Steve Turre, Woody’s Delight
Trombonist Steve Turre joined Woody Shaw’s quintet in 1981 and made 14 records with him before Shaw died eight years later. Turre learned a great deal during that stint, and his eight original compositions on Woody’s Delight are a heartfelt, fitting tribute to his former mentor. Turre recruited five outstanding trumpeters to help him out here: Jon Faddis, Wallace Roney, Claudio Roditi, Chocolate Armenteros and Freddie Hendrix. Turre composed “In Retrospect” specifically with Roney in mind, and the result is a gorgeous vehicle that combines a mournful, mysterious, trombone tone with fiery, fluid, muted trumpet lines. On “3 For Woody,” Turre’s soulful colorations on the low end are just as intriguing as Hendrix’s explosive, ceiling-scraping notes on the high end. “Brother Bob” (composed in remembrance of the late limousine driver Bob Colley) is an 11-minute journey with a deep groove, hairpin turns, a definite sense of swing, cascading piano work by Xavier Davis and a rich, full, memorable trombone solo that resolves exquisitely. The only non-Turre composition on the CD is Roditi’s samba jazz number “Annette’s For Sure,” which features Turre’s melodic blowing on both trombone and seashell. This sturdy album demonstrates that Turre is a gracious leader who is willing to share the spotlight in service to the song.(Downbeat)