![]() Several of these received very high accolades from critics and high placement on the airplay charts. In addition to being a sideman, Bobby also became a leader around this time, recording many of his own albums. Once in Los Angeles, Bobby quickly found what he was looking for, and in the years to come he spent time with the groups of Art Pepper, Bud Shank, Horace Silver Quintet, and Frank Strazzeri-Sam Most, as well as numerous big bands such as Bill Holman, Louie Bellson, Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin, Oliver Nelson, Bill Berry, Nat Pierce-Frank Capp Juggernaut, Ed Shaughnessy, Terry Gibbs, Benny Goodman, Maynard Ferguson, Neal Hefti, Don Menza, and Bob Florence. So late in 1972 he decided to make a move to the Los Angeles area in order to get reinvolved in developing as a jazz player. By this time Bobby was widely known for his strong lead playing rather than as a jazz soloist. This brought Bobby to live in Las Vegas where he became prominent in various hotels and casinos. Many other similar situations followed and Bobby played lead trumpet for a number of pop stars. He then spent some time playing for Della Reese and Buddy Rich, who's big band had just been formed. After his stint with Tommy Dorsey, Bobby was asked to play with Woody Herman's band upon Bill Chase's recommendation. Shortly after leaving he joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the direction of Sam Donahue, which, among other things, gave him the chance to perform quite a bit with trumpet legend Charlie Shavers. He then spent three years as the jazz trumpet soloist in the famed NORAD multi-service band. He spent most of his high school days playing as many as six nights a week in a dinner club, giving him an early start to his professional career. By the time he was thirteen he was playing at local dances with a number of bands and by fifteen had put together his own group to play at dances, occasional concerts and in jazz coffee houses. It is joyous experience.Born In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Bobby Shew began playing the guitar at the age of eight and switched to the trumpet at ten. Such a brilliant effort as Telepathy can only be achieved by artists of sensitivity and vast creative depth. "Telepathy II" closes the session with a second venture into the free where trills lead to motifs, responses, and shimmering delights. "Indian Summer," taken up tempo, swings heavy. "You've Changed" is a showcase for Shew's azure lyricism, with Mays setting a platform before his own elegant solo. Luis Bonfa's "Gentle Rain" is rendered straight bossa. The track is seductive, drawing one into the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic dimensions. "Telepathy" is an introspective, meditative free-form experiment. He is inventive, supportive, and has a wizard's keyboard approach in developing his own ideas and responding to what musically spirals with his partner. Mays, ever the explorer whenever he performs, is the perfect partner for this type of effort. ![]() As it was with with the album's dedicated artist Miles Davissimplicity can say the most, and Shew's sketches, whether brief or extended, always swing and speak volumes. Shew's flugel is especially tone-rich and his ability to draw colors from dynamics and inflection touches is superb. However, the interplay between these two is electric, involving and enticing. The musical palette here is pastel and soft. Throughout that track and the entire session, melody and texture dominate. "Poor Butterfly" has Shew's Harmon dancing over Mays' comps before Mays delivers his first extended soloa terrific one. "It Might As Well Be Spring" awakens with Mays setting pastel colors and with Shew's rubato poetry via a lush, expressive flugelhorn. ![]() Two free-form tunesthe title track and "Telepathy II"are highlights and add to the dynamism of this collaboration. The artists whose resumes are extensiveShew with the big bands of Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, et al, at the Hollywood studios, and the small groups of Horace Silver, and Mays with everyone from Art Pepper to Frank Zappa, in all ensemble sizes, offer predominantly well-known GASsers for the completely extemporaneously performed session. Originally recorded in 1978 and released in 1982, the session is an exploration in musicianship, sensitivity and utterly superb improvisation. Telepathy, a horn-piano collaboration featuring trumpeter Bobby Shew and pianist Bill Mays, continues the traditionand, brilliantly so. Oscar Peterson and Dizzy Gillespie (Pablo, 1974) and Clark Terry's One on One (Chesky Records, 1999), where CT played with fourteen different jazz pianists, come to mind. Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines' "Weather Bird" (1928) was a groundbreaker, although a single. Trumpet and piano duo albums are relatively rare.
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