Woody Herman Shaw Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the 20th century’s most important and influential jazz trumpeters and composers.

Woody Shaw Quotes

1. “Now, as for this new breed of musicians with their ‘ultrasonic’ conservatory technique, I say: So What. Tell me a story from the heart of your soul and what your existence in this Universe is all about!”
— Woody Shaw

2. “The trouble with this country is that everything is new. We don’t have any consideration for the past… Just because something is old, you don’t just rip it down. You can renovate it instead of ripping it down and building something new.”
— Woody Shaw

3. “In order for a musician to grow, he’s got to pay his dues. Some musicians ask me, ‘well, what do you mean? You’re saying I have to ‘starve’ and pay all these dues just to play jazz?’ And my answer to them is, well, to some degree, yes! Because in order to play jazz you have to live it. Those notes mean something. They don’t just come from your brain, they come from your heart and soul too. And in order to have that heart and soul you have to experience life. So I relate my music to my life and my life style. You can’t separate the two.”
— Woody Shaw

4. “I don’t think in terms of intervals; I think in terms of tonal color. I’m trying to play through as many keys as possible.”
— Woody Shaw