Arvell Shaw
b. 15 September 1923, St Louis, Missouri, USA. Although he had previously studied other instruments, Shaw began playing bass while working with the Fate Marable band in the early '40s. Shortly after this, military service interrupted his career but soon after World War II ended he joined Louis Armstrong, a job which, on and off, lasted for a quarter of a century. First, he was with Armstrong's big band; he rejoined when the All Stars were formed in 1945, staying until 1953 (with a short break to study in Switzerland). In the mid-to-late '50s and in the '60s he made frequent return visits to Armstrong but found time for appearances with Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson and others. After Armstrong's death in 1971, Shaw worked with a number of mainstream jazz artists, including Buddy Tate, Dorothy Donegan and Earl Hines, freelanced in the USA and Europe and then, in the '80s, re-entered the Armstrong fold by joining Keith Smith's WONDERFUL WORLD OF LOUIS ARMSTRONGconcert package. A solid and thoroughly dependable member of the rhythm section, Shaw is also an energetic and accomplished soloist whose playing always commands attention.