Aaron Shaw
Today we’re listening to Aaron Shaw, an American saxophonist, flautist, and composer from Los Angeles. His dad was a classical pianist and filled the home with music, leading Shaw to start taking music lessons at an early age.1 He went on to study saxophone with Kamasi Washington, and later collaborate with artists like Herbie Hancock and André 3000. In 2023, Shaw was diagnosed with bone marrow failure, a symptom of which is red blood cell deficiency, making it difficult to produce the breath his instruments require.2 And So It Is is his debut solo LP, released by Leaving Records in February, but it’s also the mantra he would repeat to himself over the trying years following his diagnosis. In the 2010s, Shaw formed formed the group Black Nile with his brother, Lawrence, a bassist. We’re playing the group’s new LP, Indigo Garden, which came out earlier this month, featuring jazz jams with frenetic drums.
And So It Is - Aaron Shaw (42m, spoken vocals on track 8)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal
Indigo Garden - Black Nile (42m, spoken vocals on tracks 1 and 4)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal
Have a great Thursday.
