Phil Woods is dead...

Phil Woods died on September 29th, 2015, in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. On September 4th, the great American alto saxophonist – also a clarinettist – had left the stage of the Craftman’s Guild in Manchester, having played a tribute concert entitled Charlie Parker with Strings, and thereby announcing his retirement. Only fifteen years later, he died at the age of 83 as a result of pulmonary complications… Little publicized, Phil Woods will be remembered as one of the greatest altos in the history of jazz. His style was quickly christened by many as the heir to Charlie Parker. Yet, stylistically, he quickly cut the chord with Bird. But he did so only in terms of style; Phil Woods would later marry Chan Parker, the widow of the legendary saxophonist…

Born on November 2nd, 1931, in Springfield, Massachusetts, Phil Woods studied music with the pianist Lennie Tristano, a major influence on his musical education. On the benches of the Manhattan School of Music and at the Juillard School, Joe Lopes taught him the clarinet, as Juillard did not then have a saxophone section. His virtuosity quickly impressed the jazzosphere, who labelled him the New Bird in his early days. In 1954, he was established as the tenor in Charlie Barnet’s orchestra, as well as a lynchpin of the Jimmy Raney quintet. That same year, he published his first album, Pot Pie, on the Prestige label. Two years later, he participated in the Birdland All-Stars tour featuring Donald Byrd, Conte Candoli, Al Cohn and Kenny Dorham. During the following years, Woods’s work ethic indicated that anything would interest him, and we worked away on records with a company as varied and talented as Buddy Rich, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Thelonious Monk, Benny Goodman, Benny Carter, Monty Alexander and Gerry Mulligan.

In 1968, Phil Woods then settled in France. He formed the European Rhythm Machine, a vanguard formation with Daniel Humair, Henri Texier, George Gruntz and Gordon Beck. In 1972, he returned to the United States, and launched an electric group that met with very little success. He formed a quintet that would keep producing until 2004. The list of jazz musicians with whom he recorded is endless. Bill Evans, Tommy Flanagan, Red Mitchell, Enrico Pieranunzi, Gary Burton, Gordon Beck, Lou Donaldson, Ron Carter, Art Farmer, Stephane Grappelli, Clark Terry, and Ben Webster are just some of the names on the list...

Like all jazz greats, Phil Woods was a magnet for pop stars. One can thus hear his alto on the single Just The Way You Are by Billy Joel, on Doctor Wu by Steely Dan, or on Have A Good Time by Paul Simon.

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