Woody Shaw – Love Dance (Muse, 1976)

Woody Shaw (tr); Steve Turre (tb, b tb); René McLean (as, ss); Billy Harper (ts); Joe Bonner (p, el p); Cecil McBee (b); Victor Lewis (d); Guilherme Franco (perc); Tony Waters (cga)

Recorded in November 1975

Reissued on 32 Jazz as part of the two-disc set Last of the Line (1997); also included in the Mosaic set, Woody Shaw: The Complete Muse Sessions (2013). 

I think few would disagree with the assertion that Woody Shaw's recordings from the 1970s represent his peak years.  He was so consistently excellent that it's very difficult to choose just one.  His recordings as a leader:

• Blackstone Legacy (Contemporary, 1970)

• Song of Songs (Contemporary, 1972)

• The Moontrane (Muse, 1974)

• Love Dance (Muse, 1976)

• Little Red's Fantasy (Muse, 1976)

• The Woody Shaw Concert Ensemble at the Berliner Jazztage (Muse, 1976)

• The Iron Men (Muse, rec. 1977; rel. 1980)

• Rosewood (Columbia, 1978)

• Stepping Stones: Live at the Village Vanguard (Columbia, 1979)

• Woody III (Columbia, 1979)

You could make a strong argument for nearly any of these recordings.  In 1976 alone, he released three superb, five-star records!