Loading details…
Artist
Phil Woods Quintet
12+ albums
jazzAllp woodsspotify
about
Philip Wells Woods (born November 2, 1931) is an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and 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. Once graduated, he quickly acquired a reputation as the pre-eminent bop saxophonist of the day; 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. Since 1955 Woods has worked mainly with groups he has led, but he has also worked for or with Charlie Barnet, Jimmy Raney, George Wallington, Gene Quill, Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich, Quincy Jones, Benny Goodman, Sonny Rollins, Benny Carter, Thelonious Monk, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Stephane Grappelli, Louis Bellson, Steely Dan,and Michel Legrand. 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?". Woods has also recorded extensively, both
