- Genres: Jazz
Biography
Historic jazz percussionist Lige Shaw's full first name was Elijah, but he should not be confused with the alternative country picker named Elijah Shaw associated with outfits such as Skuntry. Lige Shaw's career in some ways can be compared to drummer Earl Palmer, in that both men came out of backgrounds as tap dancers in touring minstrel shows and vaudeville. Unlike Palmer, who went on to become one of the greatest and most prolific studio recording session drummers, Shaw for the most part stayed out of the range of microphones.Again like Palmer, Shaw's professional career began as a child. Already tap dancing in shows at the age of 11, Shaw developed skills as a drummer in the next few years and in the fall of 1917 teamed up with a group known as Bowen & Blondins' Dandy Dixie Minstrels. He toured relentlessly in the next few decades, one common theme being the word "minstrels" at the end of any and all band names: the Alabama Minstrels, Huntington's Mighty Minstrels, and so forth. Throughout the '20s and '30s the drummer took part in various live music activities in the Midwest, most often based out of St. Louis. He even played in a so-called "Wild West" show that toured in 1930.
The modern jazz of the day occupied his interest in the '30s, Shaw laying down the beat for leaders such as Charlie Creath, Ralph Sutton, Dewey Jackson, and Walter Stanley. Shaw's daily business also included working for the St. Louis musicians' union. In the '40s he joined the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus Band: when not out gallivanting with tigers and elephants, Shaw worked with pianist Eddie Johnson at a St. Louis club in which he eventually became leader of a house band.
Bass and tuba player Singleton Palmer was Shaw's main musical sidekick during the '50s, apparently creating some recordings that have become exceedingly difficult to track down. Shaw eventually developed his own piano-tuning business as a reaction to decreasing jazz gigs. In the '70s he was featured in a St. Louis riverboat band. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi
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