Phil Woods

Philip Wells Woods (born November 2, 1931) is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.

Biography
Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He studied music with Lennie Tristano, who influenced him greatly, at the Manhattan School of Music and at The Juilliard School. His friend, Joe Lopes, coached him on clarinet as there was no saxophone major at Juilliard at the time. Although he did not copy Charlie "Bird" Parker, bop's greatest saxophonist, he was known as the New Bird, a label which was also attached to other alto players such as Sonny Stitt and Cannonball Adderley at one time or another in their careers.

After moving to France in 1968, Woods led The European Rhythm Machine, a group which tended toward avant-garde jazz. He returned to the United States in 1972 and, after an unsuccessful attempt to establish an electronic group, he formed a quintet which was still performing, with some changes of personnel, in 2004. As his theme, Woods uses a piece titled "How's Your Mama?"

In 1979, Woods made the recording, More Live, at the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, Texas. Perhaps his best known recorded work as a sideman is a pop piece, his alto sax solo on Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are." He also played the alto sax solo on Steely Dan's "Doctor Wu," from their critically acclaimed 1975 album Katy Lied, as well as Paul Simon's 1975 hit, Have a Good Time.

Although Woods is primarily a saxophonist he is also a fine clarinet player and solos can be found scattered through his recordings. One good example is his clarinet solo on Misirlou on the album Into The Woods (see discography below).

Phil Woods married Chan Parker, the widow of Charlie Parker, and was stepfather to Chan's daughter, Kim.

Woods, along with Rick Chamberlain and Ed Joubert founded the organization Celebration of the Arts (COTA) in 1978 late one night in the bar at the Deerhead Inn in Delaware Water Gap. The organization would eventually become the Delaware Water Gap Celebration of the Arts. Their initial goal was to help foster an appreciation of jazz and its relationship to other artistic disciplines. Each year, the organization hosts the Celebration of the Arts Festival in the town of Delaware Water Gap in September.

Phil Woods A Life in E Flat-Portrait of a Jazz Legend is a documentary film released in 2005 by Jazzed Media. Directed by Rich Lerner, and produced by Graham Carter, the film offers an intimate portrait of Woods during a recording session of the Jazzed Media album This is How I Feel About Quincy.

Awards
In 2007, Phil received a "Jazz Master" award from the National Endowment of the Arts.

Grammy awards
Woods' recordings have been nominated for seven Grammy awards and have won four.


 * 1975 Images: "Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance".
 * 1977 Live from the Show Boat: "Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Individual or Group".
 * 1982 More Live: "Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Individual or Group".
 * 1983 At the Vanguard: "Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Individual or Group".

As leader



 * 1954: Pot Pie (Prestige)
 * 1955: Woodlore (Prestige)
 * 1956: Pairing Off (Prestige)
 * 1956: The Young Bloods (Prestige) - with Donald Byrd
 * 1957: Four Altos (Prestige) - with Gene Quill, Hal Stein, Sahib Shihab
 * 1957: Sugan (Status)
 * 1961: Rights of Swing (Candid)
 * 1967: Greek Cooking (Impulse!)
 * 1969: Round Trip (Verve)
 * 1971: Phil Woods and his European Rhythm Machine at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival (Embryo Records)
 * 1974: Musique du Bois (Muse Records)
 * 1975: Images
 * 1976: The New Phil Woods Album
 * 1976: Altology (Prestige)
 * 1977: Live from the Show Boat
 * 1977: Summer Afternoon Jazz (Hindsight Records)
 * 1978: 'Song for Sisyphus' (Gryphon Records)
 * 1979: Phil Woods Quartet Live (Clean Cuts)
 * 1980: Phil Woods/Lew Tabackin (Evidence)
 * 1982: Live from New York (Palo Alto Records)
 * 1982: More Live
 * 1983: At the Vanguard
 * 1984: Integrity (Red)
 * 1984: Heaven (Evidence)
 * 1986: Dizzy Gillespie Meets Phil Woods Quintet (Timeless) - with Dizzy Gillespie
 * 1987: Bop Stew; Bouquet (Concord)
 * 1988: Evolution; Here's To My Lady (Concord)
 * 1988: Embracable You (Philology)
 * 1989: Flash (Concord)
 * 1989: Here's to My Lady (Chesky)
 * 1990: All Bird Children; Real Life (Concord)
 * 1990: Phil's Mood (Philology)
 * 1990: My Man Benny, My Man Phil, with Benny Carter (Musicmasters)
 * 1991: Flowers For Hodges (Concord)
 * 1991: Full House (Milestone)
 * 1991: Real Life, The Little Big Band (Chesky)
 * 1994: Just Friends; Our Monk (Philology)
 * 1995: Plays The Music Of Jim McNeely (TCB)
 * 1996: Mile High Jazz Live In Denver (Concord)
 * 1996: Astor and Elis (Chesky)
 * 1996: The Complete Concert (JMS) with Gordon Beck
 * 1996: Into The Woods (Concord CCD-4699)
 * 1997: ''Celebration! (Concord)
 * 1998: The Rev And I (Blue Note Records)
 * 2006: Pass the Bebop (Cowbell Music) with Benjamin Koppel and Alex Riel Trio
 * 2006: Song for Sysiphus (Passport Audio)

As sideman
With Manny Albam With Kenny Burrell With Gary Burton With Ron Carter With Eddie Costa With Lou Donaldson With Bill Evans With Gil Evans With Art Farmer With Dizzy Gillespie With Stephane Grappelli With Kenyon Hopkins With Milt Jackson With Billy Joel With Quincy Jones With Mundell Lowe With Nellie McKay With the Modern Jazz Quartet With Thelonious Monk With Oliver Nelson With Lalo Schifrin With Shirley Scott With Billy Taylor With Clark Terry With Ben Webster
 * Jazz Goes to the Movies (Impulse!, 1962)
 * A Generation Ago Today (Verve, 1967)
 * Who is Gary Burton? (RCA, 1962)
 * The Groovy Sound of Music (RCA, 1963)
 * Anything Goes (Kudu, 1975)
 * Eddie Costa Quintet (Interlude, 1957)
 * Rough House Blues (1964)
 * Symbiosis (1974)
 * Gil Evans Orchestra, Kenny Burrel & Phil Woods (1974)
 * Listen to Art Farmer and the Orchestra (Mercury, 1962)
 * World Statesman (Norgran, 1956)
 * Dizzy in Greece (Verve, 1957)
 * The New Continent (Limelight, 1962)
 * Rhythmstick (CTI, 1990)
 * Classic Sessions: Stephane Grappelli (1987)
 * The Hustler (soundtrack) (Kapp, 1961)
 * Ray Brown / Milt Jackson with Ray Brown (Verve, 1965)
 * The Stranger (CBS, 1977)
 * Just The Way You Are (1977)
 * The Quintessence (1961)
 * Satan in High Heels (soundtrack) (Charlie Parker, 1961)
 * Obligatory Villagers (2007)
 * Jazz Dialogue (Atlantic, 1965)
 * MJQ & Friends: A 40th Anniversary Celebration (Atlantic, 1994)
 * The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall (1959)
 * Big Band and Quartet in Concert (Columbia, 1963)
 * More Blues and the Abstract Truth (Impulse!, 1964)
 * Fantabulous (Argo, 1964)
 * Oliver Nelson Plays Michelle (Impulse!, 1966)
 * Happenings with Hank Jones (Impulse!, 1966)
 * The Spirit of '67 with Pee Wee Russell (Impulse!, 1967)
 * The Kennedy Dream (Impulse!, 1967)
 * Samba Para Dos with Bob Brookmeyer (Verve, 1963)
 * Once a Thief and Other Themes (Verve, 1965)
 * Roll 'Em: Shirley Scott Plays the Big Bands (Impulse!, 1966)
 * Kwamina (Mercury, 1961)
 * The Happy Horns of Clark Terry (Impulse!, 1964)
 * See You at the Fair (1964)