DVD: Bobby Shew

The Bobby Shew Story (Skyhigh Films). The great trumpeter talks about his career -- stumbling into a jam session at age fifteen and discovering that he had the gift of improvisation -- deciding to give up studio work: “I realized I was on a chain like a pet monkey" -- the joy of losing his fear of playing incorrectly: “I'm not afraid of sticking my neck out any more." Interspersed with the interview segments are sequences of Shew performing at the Jazz Bakery with the Chris Walden big band. They include his scintillating exchanges with fellow trumpeter Kye Palmer on Clifford Brown's “Joy Spring." The DVD production is rudimentary, but the video quality and sound are excellent, and Shew's insights are often profound.