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Bobby Shew

Born In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Bobby Shew began playing the guitar at the age of eight and switched to the trumpet at ten. 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. 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.

He then spent three years as the jazz trumpet soloist in the famed NORAD multi-service band. 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. After his stint with Tommy Dorsey, Bobby was asked to play with Woody Herman's band upon Bill Chase's recommendation. He then spent some time playing for Della Reese and Buddy Rich, who's big band had just been formed.

Many other similar situations followed and Bobby played lead trumpet for a number of pop stars. This brought Bobby to live in Las Vegas where he became prominent in various hotels and casinos. By this time Bobby was widely known for his strong lead playing rather than as a jazz soloist. 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.

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.

In addition to being a sideman, Bobby also became a leader around this time, recording many of his own albums. Several of these received very high accolades from critics and high placement on the airplay charts. One of his albums, 'Outstanding In His Field' was nominated for a Grammy in 1980, while, 'Heavy Company' was awarded the Jazz Album Of The Year in 1983 by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).

During this time Bobby also found a great deal of studio work, including TV shows like 'Hawaii 5-O', 'Streets Of San Francisco', 'Bob Newhart', 'Mary Tyler Moore', 'Midnight Specials', 'Don Kirschner Rock Concert', 'Happy Days', 'Laverne And Shirley', and 'Eight Is Enough.' His work on soundtracks includes 'Grease I and II', 'Rocky I and II', 'Six-Pack', 'The Muppet Movie', 'The Drivers', and 'Taxi'.

Markus Gottschlich: Found Sounds

Read "Found Sounds" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
December 30, 2020

Found Sounds? As it turns out, there is a special story behind that. For four years leading up to this recording, Austrian-born pianist Markus Gottschlich preserved “sounds" he heard around the world using a binaural mic and hand-held recording device. He writes that one thing he found was that “sounds, more than any other sensory stimulus" sparked his imagination and set his creative juices in motion. He has incorporated a number of those sounds into the nine original compositions on ...

Album Review

Bobby Shew / Bill Mays: Telepathy

Read "Telepathy" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello

by Nicholas F. Mondello
May 2, 2020

Trumpet and piano duo albums are relatively rare. Louis Armstrong and Earl Fatha" Hines' “Weather Bird" (1928) was a groundbreaker, although a single. 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. Telepathy, a horn-piano collaboration featuring trumpeter Bobby Shew and pianist Bill Mays, continues the tradition—and, brilliantly so. Originally recorded in 1978 and released in 1982, the session is an exploration ...

Album Review

Bobby Shew with the University of Florida Jazz Band: Bobby Shew - Live 1983

Read "Bobby Shew - Live 1983" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
August 24, 2015

What once was lost, now is found. Scott Wilson, head of the jazz studies program at the University of Florida, recently discovered this recording of a concert from 1983 that features Bobby Shew as the guest soloist with the University of Florida Jazz Band, then under the direction of Gary Langford. And what a find it is. Shew's creative soloing and stratospheric statements merge seamlessly with this tight band, an outfit that can pack a mean wallop when the music ...

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Album Review

Bobby Shew / The Kjell : I Can't Say No

Read "I Can't Say No" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
May 3, 2003

Brilliance can be a blessing or a curse. Some musicians make excellence seem so easy that hardly anyone is surprised by another superlative performance, simply accepting it as a matter of course. As Exhibit A, there’s trumpeter Bobby Shew, who has been around for years, paid his dues in groups both large and small, has a lovely sound, remarkable technique, and seems incapable of fashioning a less-than-rewarding musical experience. In other words, he’s good, so good that his artistry is ...

141

Album Review

Bobby Shew, Gary Foster and Friends: Play The Music Of Reed Kotler

Read "Play The Music Of Reed Kotler" reviewed by Jim Santella

by Jim Santella
May 1, 2002

It's a refreshing, straight-ahead quintet that interprets these songs by San Francisco Bay area composer Reed Kotler. All five members of the quintet solo throughout this 2-CD set; but it's the distinctive, front line work of Bobby Shew and Gary Foster that thrills. Shew provided the musical arrangements. As his schedule reveals, the trumpeter is noted for his work all over the world as a brass clinician. Here, on this album, Shew's big bold tone and exciting technique provide adventure. ...

165

Album Review

Bobby Shew: The Music of John Harmon

by Jack Bowers
January 1, 2002

Composer / arranger / pianist John Harmon has been associated with Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, for more than forty years as student and educator, and was the first director of the university’s Jazz Studies program. To honor Harmon’s many contributions, the music department brought together the university’s Jazz, Trumpet and Wind Ensembles and Symphony Orchestra to perform Harmon’s music with guest trumpeter Bobby Shew who also takes part in half a dozen duets with Harmon at the piano. Harmon, ...

210

Album Review

Bobby Shew: Salsa Caliente

by Jack Bowers
October 1, 1998

It is mildly surprising that Bobby Shew hasn’t recorded until now an album of Latin Jazz. He was raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he played the music often as a young man. While his career took him in other directions — to the studios in Los Angeles, the trumpet sections of a number of well–respected big bands, and eventually all over the world as a sought–after solo performer — his love for its fiery melodies and unconventional rhythms never ...

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