When Jaleel Shaw released Painter of the Invisible this month, he broke a fast, in a manner of speaking: it’s his first full-band album in more than a dozen years. But it’s not as if Shaw, an alto and soprano saxophonist from Philadelphia, has been slacking. As he explains in this revealing episode of The Late Set, the pause had more to do with high standards and pure convictions. Now 47, Shaw is reflecting on the lessons he’s learned from masters on the bandstand — like drummer Roy Haynes, in a longtime apprenticeship, and bassist Dave Holland, in a more recent affiliation — and started handing them down to a newer generation. It’s clear, from this conversation and from the musical evidence, that there’s plenty to give.
TLS | Jaleel Shaw
