The Moontrane is a jazz tune written by trumpeter Woody Shaw. It is the title track of his third leader album The Moontrane, recorded in December 1974 and released in 1975 on Muse Records. The piece runs about 6 minutes and 54 seconds and features an all star lineup including Steve Turre on trombone, Azar Lawrence on tenor and soprano sax, Onaje Allan Gumbs on piano, Cecil McBee and Buster Williams on bass, Victor Lewis on drums, with Guilherme Franco and Tony Waters adding percussion. The album blends hard bop and post bop with Shaw’s adventurous harmonies, and includes other Shaw originals such as Katrina Ballerina and Sanyas, with the CD reissue adding Are They Only Dreams? and alternate takes as bonuses. The Moontrane has been praised for its forward looking energy, and in 2013 Mosaic released The Complete Muse Sessions which includes this recording.
