Bobby Shew (born March 4, 1941) is an American jazz

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

and

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though ...

player.

Biography

He was born in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, United States. After leaving college in 1960, Shew was drafted into the U.S. Army and played trumpet and toured with the

NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and pr ...

joint forces band stationed in

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

. After leaving the Army, Shew joined

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-to ...

's band and then played with the

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

and then the

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

big bands in the mid-to-late 1960s. He was a trumpeter in

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

's band while in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, and is featured on his 1971 live album ''Live at Caesar's Palace''. In 1972, Shew moved from Las Vegas to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where he did much studio work as well as play with some of the top big bands of the era through the end of the 1970s: Akiyoshi/Tabackin,

Louis Bellson Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paolino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer ...

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...

, and others. In addition to playing on several notable big band recordings starting in the 1960s, Shew recorded several albums as leader, starting with ''Debut'' in 1978. Shew has mentored jazz musicians in New Mexico, and has led the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra. He has taught a two-week workshop for high school students at the Skidmore Summer Jazz Institute in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the ...

. Shew also performs and teaches worldwide, including a two-week residency at the Graz University of Music in Austria in 2017. He has taught at leading European music schools in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and also in Canada.

Discography

As leader

*''Debut'' (Disco Mate) 1978 *''Outstanding In His Field'' (

Inner City The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

) 1979 *''Class Reunion'' (Sutra) 1980 *''Play Song'' (Jazz Hounds) 1981 *''Telepathy'' (Jazz Hounds) 1982 *''Shewhorn'' (

Pausa In linguistics, pausa (Latin for 'break', from Greek παῦσις, ''pâusis'' 'stopping, ceasing') is the hiatus between prosodic declination units. The concept is somewhat broad, as it is primarily used to refer to allophones that occur in ...

) 1983 *''Trumpets No End'' (Delos) 1983 – with

Chuck Findley Charles B. Findley (born December 13, 1947, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is an American trumpet player known for his diverse work as a session musician. He also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone. His technical ab ...

*''Round Midnight'' (MoPro) 1984 *''Breakfast Wine'' (Pausa) 1985 *''Aim For The Heart'' (Gateway) 1987 – with the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra *''Metropole Orchestra'' (Mons) 1988 *''Tribute to the Masters'' (

Double-Time Records Double-Time Records (a.k.a. Double-Time Jazz) is a jazz record company and label founded by Jamey D. Aebersold in New Albany, Indiana in 1995. Its catalogue includes albums by John Abercrombie, Bruce Barth, Jerry Bergonzi, Conrad Herwig, Andy ...

) 1995 *''Heavyweights'' (MAMA) 1996 – with Carl Fontana *''Playing With Fire'' (MAMA) 1997 *''Salsa Caliente'' (MAMA) 1998 *''The Music of John Harmon'' (Sea Breeze) 2001 *''Play Music of Reed Kottler'' (Torii) 2002 – with Gary Foster "and friends" *''Live in Switzerland'' (TCB) 2003 – Bobby Shew / George Robert Quintet *''I Can't Say No'' (Four Leaf Clover) 2003 *''One in a Million'' (Sea Breeze) 2004 – recorded 1990 with The Groovin' High Big Band / Peter Fleischhauer *''Cancaos Do Amor'' (Torii) 2007 *''LIVE 1983'' ( UF School of Music) 2015 -Recorded 1983 with University of Florida Jazz Band -Director Gary Langford

As sideman

With

* '' The Louis Bellson Explosion'' (Pablo, 1975) * ''Salute'' (Chiaroscuro, 2002) With

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretati ...

*'' Can't Hide Love'' (Blue Note, 1976) With Rodger Fox Big Band *''Heavy Company'' (Circular, 1981) With

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. He arranged music for D ...

*'' State Street Sweet'' (MAMA, 1995)

Honors

*''Outstanding in His Field'' - Grammy nomination (1980)

References

External links

Official website
*Bobby Shew a
allaboutjazz.com
*Bobby Shew at allmusic.combr>Bobby Shew equipment and discographyBobby Shew Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2005) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shew, Bobby 1941 births Living people American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Musicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico Pausa Records artists Inner City Records artists United States Army Band musicians 21st-century American trumpeters 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Double-Time Records artists Valley High School alumni