Phil Woods

Phil Woods – Rights Of Swing (Remastered) (1961/2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · March 29, 2024 · Comments off

When he first came on the scene, Phil Woods was often referred to as “The New Bird,” in a nod to the legendary Charlie Parker – A testament to his genius on the saxophone to be sure. But while obviously indebted to Parker – as all modern jazz saxophonists of a certain era were – there is no question that Phil Woods was an original. After earning a degree in music from Juilliard in the early 1950’s, Woods found himself in the orbit of the great Quincy Jones. At Jones’ invitation Woods joined Dizzy Gillespie’s infamous Jazz Ambassadors – a tour sponsored by the US State Department as part of a global cultural diplomacy initiative – and subsequently became a member of Jones’ own touring band. This recording, his 9th album as a band leader, consists entirely of Woods’ five-part Rights of Swing Suite. An ambitious large-scale composition based solidly on jazz traditions. A culmination of the influences the then 30 year artist had absorbed. Arguably considered one of Woods finest recordings, the record features a stellar section made up of Wood’s fellow Quincy Jones band members. (It should be noted that these same musicians, for the most part, are also the section on Benny Bailey’s Candid Records recording, Big Brass, recorded a a few months prior in November of 1960). Recorded at the Nola Penthouse Studios in New Your City on two dates in January and February of 1961, and conducted by Quincy Jones. The LP includes extraordinary liner notes by Candid A&R man and producer Nat Hentoff, and in-depth commentary from Woods himself, giving a context and insight that adds to the experience of hearing these extraordinary performances.

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Lee Konitz, Pony Poindexter, Phil Woods, Leo Wright – Alto Summit (1968/2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/88,2kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · May 19, 2023 · Comments off

Alto Summit features four post Charlie Parker saxophone greats. Lee Konitz has been a major force in bop, cool jazz, and the Avant-garde. Pony Poindexter’s play has a more bluesy feel; he recorded with everyone from Parker to Lambert Hendricks and Ross. Named top alto saxophonist in some 30 Downbeat polls Phil Woods, was best known for his own bands, whose recordings won four Grammys, while Leo Wright is known for his work with Dizzy Gillespie, and the likes of Nat Adderley and Kenny Drew. The four are backed by an ace rhythm section including pianist Steve Kuhn, of John Coltrane fame. On the bluesy Native Land, Wright shouts out the theme. Solo order is Lee, Phil, Pony, and then Lee. There’s lots of soul on the medley of classic ballads, as Leo takes on the first piece, then Pony, Phil, and last, Lee; it ends in a stunning group improv. With its modernist theme, Prompt is a showstopper, with Leo, Pony, Lee, and then Phil upstaging each other. The Perils of Poda strikes out with a piano solo before Phil, Lee, Pony, and then Leo take over. Pony’s funky Good Booty features Pony and Phil, while Lee-o’s Blues has Leo and Lee taking a leisurely walk on the soulful side. Lee’s Tribute to Bach and Bird combines a Bach chorale cantata with a Charlie Parker solo and features both duo and collective alto play. Four alto masters combine their distinctive styles in a jazz tour de force.

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Phil Woods – Here’s To My Lady (1989) [Reissue 2004] MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · November 6, 2022 · Comments off

Phil Woods, the searing Alto saxophonist and clarinetist, calls his occasional expanded combo “the Little Big Band”. Here’s To My Lady, the octet’s first recording, offers up a hot band with inventive solos and big-sounding, imaginative ensembles. This is an album with no let downs.

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Phil Woods – Chasin’ The Bird (1998) [Japan 2018] SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · November 6, 2022 · Comments off

Phil Woods is at the peak of his powers during these 1997 sessions for Venus, leading his regular quintet (Brian Lynch, Bill Charlap, Steve Gilmore, and Bill Goodwin) through a set of songs he’s played for decades, along with some originals likely written for this outing. The alto saxophonist navigates Charlie Parker’s “Chasin’ the Bird” and “Charlie’s Wig” with the finesse of the master that he is. The interplay between the leader and Lynch in the former tune indicates that the younger musician is a force to be reckoned with. They also work well together in the dissonant “Israel,” long a favorite of boppers. Woods’ unaccompanied introduction to “Everything Happens to Me” is simply breathtaking. Woods is also a fairly prolific composer. “Autumn Thieves” is a barely disguised reworking of the standard “Autumn Leaves” (also indicating his love of puns in the title) that swings nicely. The source of the rapid fire “Clinicology” is a little less obvious at first (“Cherokee”), though little doubt remains once the quintet gets cooking. Lynch contributed “Tribute to Blue,” a strutting, yet very lyrical hard bop vehicle. Charlap, who has since left the group to lead his own trio, is one of the greatest pianists of his generation. Gilmore and Goodwin have continuously worked with Woods since 1975; enough said.

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Phil Woods, Donald Byrd – The Young Bloods (1957) [APO Remaster 2013] SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · November 6, 2022 · Comments off

The Young Bloods is an album by trumpeter Donald Byrd and saxophonist Phil Woods recorded in 1956 and released on the Prestige label. Despite the presence of co-leader Donald Byrd, Woods wrote four of the six tracks and dominates the solo offerings, hence the recording date is attributed to Woods, which conveniently also preserves the integrity of my alphabetic by artist filing system.

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