Junk Trap cover
Released

This 1978 album, released on the Italian label Black Saint, features alto saxophonist Luther Thomas and trombonist Joseph Bowie up front, with guitarist James Emery contributing skronky, biting-on-tinfoil solos. Shaw’s drumming is assertive and free in an expressionistic but never overbearing manner, and bassist John Lindberg shifts ably between almost harmolodic grooves and abstract bowed passages. All the compositions are by Shaw (with two co-writes from violinist Raymond Lee Cheng, best known for his work on saxophonist Frank Lowe’s Black Beings) and blend squalling free jazz with bluesy funk and soul.

Phil Freeman

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