Phil Woods–a problem? Who could have any problem at all with Phil?
I can, and here it is: the guy is too good!
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was blowing choruses on Donna Lee while still in his diapers. Of course, Woods paid some serious dues to play as beautifully as he does, but he seems to have been playing that way awfully early in the game. Here”s a black-and-white video clip of Phil from back in 1968.
He would have been…um, let’s see, born in 1931…okay, well, one can certainly be playing a lot of horn at age thirty-seven. I guess that much is obvious. And in Phil’s case, he evidently was playing outstandingly at least fourteen years earlier. His extensive discography goes back to 1954, two years before I was born. Phil had to have been darned good even then for a record company to pick him up at the tender age of twenty-three.
I guess that’s why he’s Phil Woods. Why he’s a jazz icon. Because he was a killer player back then and remains so today. He had the fire in him at an early age, he took it and ran with it, and he’s been running ever since.
And playing beautifully.
You got a problem with that?
Very nice clip. Thanks for the post on Phil Woods. I haven’t heard of him before. I love sax and I’m looking for and discovering so many great saxophonists. I’ll be adding him to my blog as well.
I’m glad to have introduced you to Phil. He truly has become an important page in jazz history. He’s produced a prodigious body of recorded work, and he doesn’t show any signs of letting up. Phil is a true road warrior, touring worldwide and otherwise remaining very active musically. If you enjoy bebop alto, all it’ll take is one listen to Woods and I promise, you’ll be hooked.