Biography

After leaving college in 1960, Shew was drafted into the U.S. Army and played trumpet with the NORAD band in Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...

 and on tour. After leaving the Army, Shew joined Tommy Dorsey

Tommy Dorsey

Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...

's band and then played with the Woody Herman

Woody Herman

Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...

 and then the Buddy Rich

Buddy Rich

Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...

 Big Bands in the mid-to-late 1960s. In 1972 Shew moved from Las Vegas to 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

Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band

The Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band was a 16 piece jazz big band created by pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi and tenor saxophone / flutist Lew Tabackin in Los Angeles in 1973. In 1982 the principals moved from Los Angeles to New York city and re-formed the group with new members under the name,...

; Bellson; Ferguson

Maynard Ferguson

Maynard Ferguson was a Canadian jazz musician and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957...

; and others.

Selected discography

In addition to playing on several notable Big Band recordings starting in the 1960s, Shew recorded several albums as leader starting with 1978's Telepathy.

• Telepathy (Jazz Hounds) 1978
• Outstanding In His Field (Inner City
  Inner City Records
  Inner City Records, an American jazz record label now based in Elmsford, New York, was founded in 1976 by Irv Kratka, owner of Music Minus One, and Eric Kriss, an independent producer. Affiliated labels included Guitar World and Classic Jazz...
  
  ) 1979
• Class Reunion (Sutra) 1980
• Play Song (Jazz Hounds) 1981
• Shewhorn (Pausa
  Pausa Records
  Pausa Records was a jazz record label, active circa 1975-1986. The name was derived from the fact that it was the U.S.A. division of the Italian record company Produttori Associati In Italy Produttori Associati was also known for soundtrack albums of music from Italian films.Many of its releases...
  
  ) 1983
• Trumpets No End (Delos) 1983 – with Chuck Findley
  Chuck Findley
  Chuck Findley is an American session musician. Most widely-known as a trumpet player, he also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone...
  
  
• Breakfast Wine (Pausa) 1984
• Round Midnight (MoPro) 1984
• Aim For The Heart (Gateway) 1987 – with the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra
• Metropole Orchestra (Mons) 1988
• Tribute to the Masters (Double Time) 1995
• Heavyweights (MAMA) 1996 – with Carl Fontana
  Carl Fontana
  Carl Charles Fontana was an American jazz trombonist. Because Fontana rarely recorded under his own name and toured only occasionally after 1958, he is significantly less famous among mainstream jazz fans, although well-known amongst trombonists.-Birth to 1958:Born in Monroe, Louisiana, 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

Honors

• Outstanding in His Field - Grammy nomination (1980)
• Heavy Company - Jazz Album of the Year (1983)

External links

• Bobby Shew at allaboutjazz.com
• Bobby Shew at [ allmusic.com]
• Bobby Shew's Official Website
• Bobby Shew equipment and discography