Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer.
Biography
Woods was born in
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...
. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began taking lessons at a local music shop. His heroes on the alto saxophone included
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...
and
Johnny Hodges
Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...
. He studied music with
Lennie Tristano
Leonard Joseph Tristano (March 19, 1919 – November 18, 1978) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher of jazz improvisation.
Tristano studied for bachelor's and master's degrees in music in Chicago before moving to New Yo ...
at the
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...
and at the
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...
. His friend, Joe Lopes, coached him on clarinet as there was no saxophone major at Juilliard at the time and received a bachelor’s degree in 1952. Although he did not copy
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
, Woods was known as the New Bird, a nickname also given to other alto saxophone players such as
Sonny Stitt
Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his ...
and
Cannonball Adderley
Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s.
Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", whi ...
.
In the 1950s, Woods began to lead his own bands.
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
invited him to accompany
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
on a world tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department. A few years later he toured Europe with Jones, and in 1962 he toured Russia with
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing".
From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...
.
After moving to France in 1968, Woods led the European Rhythm Machine, a group which tended toward
avant-garde jazz
Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz and experimental jazz) is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the early 1950s and developed through to the late 1960s. Orig ...
. 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 used a piece titled "How's Your Mama?"
Woods earned the top alto sax player award almost 30 times in ''
DownBeat
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
'' magazine's annual readers' poll. His quintet was awarded the top small combo title several times.
In 1979, Woods recorded the album ''More Live'' at
Armadillo World Headquarters
Armadillo World Headquarters (The 'Dillo or Armadillo WHQ) was an influential Texas music hall and beer garden in Austin at 525 Barton Springs Road – at South First Street – just south of the Colorado River and downtown Austin. The 'Dillo fl ...
in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
. Perhaps his best known recorded work as a sideman is a pop piece, his alto sax solo on Billy Joel's 1977 " Just the Way You Are". He also played the alto sax solo on Steely Dan's "Doctor Wu" from their 1975 album ''
Katy Lied
''Katy Lied'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released in 1975 by ABC Records. It was certified gold and peaked at No. 13 on the US charts. The single "Black Friday" charted at No. 37.
The album was the first afte ...
'', as well as
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
's "Have a Good Time" from the 1975 album ''
Still Crazy After All These Years
''Still Crazy After All These Years'' is the fourth solo studio album by Paul Simon. Recorded and released in 1975, the album produced four U.S. Top 40 hits: " 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" (No. 1), " Gone at Last" (No. 23), " My Little Town" (No. ...
''.
Although Woods was primarily a saxophonist, he was also a clarinet player and solos can be found scattered through his recordings. One particular example is his clarinet solo on "
Misirlou
"Misirlou" ( el, Μισιρλού < tr, Mısırlı 'Egyptian' < ar, مصر ''Miṣr'' 'Egypt') is a folk song from the Eastern Mediterranean region. The original author of the song is not known, but Arabic, Greek, and Jewish musicians we ...
" on the compilation album, ''Into the Woods''.
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 Deer Head Inn in
Delaware Water Gap
Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains.
The gap makes up the southern portion of the 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
The Celebration of the Arts festival, or COTA for short, is an annual event in September located in Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania. COTA is presented in cooperation with the Borough of Delaware Water Gap, Castle Hill Development, Inc., and the D ...
in the town of
Delaware Water Gap
Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains.
The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Water Gap ...
in September.
In 2005, Jazzed Media released the documentary ''Phil Woods: A Life in E Flat – Portrait of a Jazz Legend'', directed by Rich Lerner and produced by Graham Carter.
Woods was married to
Chan Parker
Chan Woods (born Beverly Delores Berg, also known as Chan Richardson; 29 June 1925 – 9 September 1999), was a common-law wife of jazz musician Charlie Parker. She later married musician Phil Woods.
She was born in New York City to an inter-r ...
, the common-law wife of Charlie Parker, for seventeen years and was the stepfather to Chan's daughter, Kim. On September 4, 2015, he performed a tribute to ''
Charlie Parker with Strings
''Charlie Parker with Strings'' is the name of two separate albums by jazz musician Charlie Parker, released in 1950 on Mercury Records. It is also the name of a 1995 compilation album released by Verve Records, containing all the tracks from b ...
'' at the
Manchester Craftsmen's Guild
Manchester Craftsmen's Guild (MCG) is a nonprofit art, education, and music organization established in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1968.
Courses include ceramics, photography, digital arts, and painting to over 500 young people each year and 3 ...
and announced at the end of the show that he would be retiring. He died of emphysema on September 29, 2015, at the age of 83.
Awards
* Grammy Award,
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album has been presented since 1961. From 1962 to 1971 and 1979 to 1991 the award title specified instrumental performances. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works ...
: ''
Images
An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
NEA Jazz Masters
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), every year honors up to seven jazz musicians with Jazz Master Awards. The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships are the self-proclaimed highest honors that the United States bestows upon ...
, 2007
Discography
As leader/co-leader
* 1954– 55: ''Pot Pie'' (New Jazz, 1963) with
Jon Eardley
Jon Eardley (September 30, 1928 – April 1, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter.Frederick A. Beck, "Jon Eardley". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''.
Life and career
Born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Eardley first started on trumpet at the a ...
The Young Bloods
''The Young Bloods'' is an album by trumpeter Donald Byrd and saxophonist Phil Woods recorded in 1956 and released on the Prestige label.
'' (Prestige, 1957) with
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...
* 1957: ''
Four Altos
''Four Altos'' is an album by saxophonists Phil Woods Gene Quill, Sahib Shihab and Hal Stein recorded in 1957 and released on the Prestige label.
'' (Prestige) with
Gene Quill
Daniel Eugene Quill (December 15, 1927 – December 8, 1988) was an American jazz alto saxophonist who played often with Phil Woods in the duet Phil and Quill. Quill also worked as a sideman for Buddy DeFranco, Quincy Jones, Gene Krupa, Gerry M ...
Sahib Shihab
Sahib Shihab (born Edmund Gregory; June 23, 1925 – October 24, 1989) was an American jazz and hard bop saxophonist (baritone, alto, and soprano) and flautist. He variously worked with Luther Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Fletcher Henderson, ...
* 1957: ''Phil and Quill with Prestige'' with Gene Quill
* 1957: '' Sugan'' (Status)
* 1957: ''Warm Woods'' (Epic)
* 1961: '' Rights of Swing'' ( Candid)
* 1967: '' Greek Cooking'' (
Impulse!
Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...
)
* 1968: ''
Alto Summit
''Alto Summit'' is an album by saxophonists Lee Konitz, Pony Poindexter, Phil Woods and Leo Wright recorded in West Germany in 1968 and released on the MPS label. The album was released in the US on Prestige Records.MPS) with Lee Konitz,
Pony Poindexter
Norwood "Pony" Poindexter (February 8, 1926, New Orleans, Louisiana – April 14, 1988, Oakland, California) was an American jazz saxophonist.
Poindexter began on clarinet and switched to playing alto and tenor sax. In 1940 he studied unde ...
and
Leo Wright
Leo Wright (December 14, 1933 in Wichita Falls, Texas – January 4, 1991 in Vienna) was an American jazz musician who played alto saxophone, flute and clarinet. He played with Charles Mingus, Booker Ervin, John Hardee, Kenny Burrell, Johnny Co ...
* 1968: ''Alive And Well In Paris'' (
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...
Verve
Verve may refer to:
Music
* The Verve, an English rock band
* ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve
* ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album)
* Verve Records, an American jazz record label
Businesses
* Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...
Embryo
An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
)
* 1972: ''Live At Montreux 72'' (Verve)
* 1974: ''New Music by the New Phil Woods Quartet'' ( Testament)
* 1974: '' Musique du Bois'' (
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
)
* 1975: ''Floresta Canto'' (
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
) with Chris Gunning Orchestra
* 1975: ''
Images
An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
'' (
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
) with
Michel Legrand
Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many son ...
* 1976: ''Phil Woods & The Japanese Rhythm Machine'' (RCA Victor)
* 1976: ''The New Phil Woods Album''
* 1976: ''Altology'' (Prestige)
* 1977: ''Live from the Show Boat''
* 1977: ''Summer Afternoon Jazz'' (
Hindsight
Hindsight bias, also known as the knew-it-all-along phenomenon or creeping determinism, is the common tendency for people to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they actually were. People often believe that after an event ha ...
)
* 1978: ''Song for Sisyphus'' ( King (Japan))
* 1979: ''I Remember'' (Gryphon)
* 1980: ''Phil Woods Quartet Live'' (Clean Cuts)
* 1980: '' Phil Woods/Lew Tabackin'' (Omnisound) with
Lew Tabackin
Lewis Barry Tabackin (born March 26, 1940) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flutist. He is married to pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi with whom he has co-led large ensembles since the 1970s.
Biography
Tabackin started learning flute at age 1 ...
* 1981: ''Three for All'' (Enja) with
Tommy Flanagan
Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...
Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
)
* 1982: ''Live from New York'' (
Palo Alto
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was estab ...
Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
)
* 1984: ''Heaven'' (
Evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field.
In epistemology, evidenc ...
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
* 1987: ''Bop Stew''; ''Bouquet'' (
Concord
Concord may refer to:
Meaning "agreement"
* Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony)
* Harmony, in music
* Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...
)
* 1988: ''Evolution''; ''Here's to My Lady'' (Concord)
* 1988 "Little Big Band Évolution"
* 1989: ''Embracable You'' (Philology)
* 1989: '' My Man Benny, My Man Phil'' ( MusicMasters) with
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...
* 1989: ''Here's to My Lady'' ( Chesky)
* 1990: ''Flash'' (Concord)
* 1990: ''Phil's Mood'' (Philology)
* 1991: ''All Bird Children''; ''Real Life'' (Concord)
* 1991: ''Flowers for Hodges'' (Concord)
* 1991 "Altoist"
* 1991: ''Real Life'', The Little Big Band (Chesky)
* 1992: ''Full House'' (
Milestone
A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...
)
* 1994: ''Just Friends''; ''Our Monk'' (Philology)
* 1995: ''Plays the Music of Jim McNeely'' (TCB)
* 1996: ''Mile High Jazz Live in Denver'' (Concord)
* 1996: '' Another Time, Another Place'' (Evening Star) with Benny Carter
* 1996: ''Astor and Elis'' (Chesky)
* 1996: ''The Complete Concert'' (JMS) with
Gordon Beck
Gordon James Beck (16 September 1935 – 6 November 2011) was an English jazz pianist and composer. At the time of his death, 26 albums had been released under his name.
Early life
Beck was born in Brixton, London, and attended Pinner Coun ...
Blue Note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...
) with
Johnny Griffin
John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
)
* 2004: ''Beyond Brooklyn'' with
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (incl ...
, finished weeks before Mann's death
* 2006: ''Pass the Bebop'' (Cowbell) with Benjamin Koppel and
Alex Riel
Alex Riel (born 13 September 1940) is a Danish jazz and rock drummer.''Jeg skal sgu sidde ved trommerne'' Af Bine Madsen. Dagbladenes Bureau, 9 February 2010. Same interview in Flensborg Avis, 17 February 2010, Side 18''Alex Riel'' Horsens F ...
Trio
* 2006: ''Tel Aviv Jazz Festival'' (Philology) with Robert Anchipolovsky and Tony Pancella Trio
* 2006: American Songbook (Kind of Blue) with Brian Lynch
* 2007: American Songbook, Vol. 2 (Kind of Blue) with Brian Lynch
* 2009: ''Ballads & Blues'' (Venus)
* 2011: '' Man with the Hat'' (Pazz) with
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956.
Kelly ...
* 2011: ''Phil & Bill'' with Bill Mays (Palmetto)
Compilation
* ''Into the Woods (The Best of Phil Woods) '' (Concord, 1996)
* ''Moonlight In Vermont'' (CTI, 2005) CD
As sideman
With
Manny Albam
Manny Albam (June 24, 1922 – October 2, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, record producer, and educator.
Early life
A native of the Dominican Republic, Albam grew up in New York City. He was attracted to jazz at an ea ...
* ''
Jazz Goes to the Movies
''Jazz Goes to the Movies'' is an album by American jazz arranger and conductor Manny Albam recorded in 1962 for the Impulse! label.
Gary Burton
Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be he ...
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
* ''
World Statesman
''World Statesman'' is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, recorded in 1956 and released on the Norgran label.Norgran, 1956)
* ''
Dizzy in Greece
''Dizzy in Greece'' is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, recorded in 1956 and 1957 and released on the Verve label.
'' (Verve, 1957)
* ''
The New Continent
''The New Continent'' is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's Big Band featuring performances arranged and composed by Lalo Schifrin and conducted by Benny Carter recorded in 1962 and released on the Limelight label.Limelight, 1962)
* '' Rhythmstick'' ( CTI, 1990)
With
Friedrich Gulda
Friedrich Gulda (16 May 1930 – 27 January 2000) was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields.
Biography Early life and career
Born in Vienna the son of a teacher, Gulda began learning to play the piano ...
* ''Friedrich Gulda at Birdland'' (RCA Victor, 1957)
* ''A Man of Letters'' (Decca, 1957)
With
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
* ''
The Birth of a Band!
''The Birth of a Band!'' is an album by Quincy Jones that was released by Mercury with performances by Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, Harry Edison, and Phil Woods.
Quincy Plays for Pussycats
''Quincy Plays for Pussycats'' is an album by Quincy Jones featuring sessions recorded between 1959 and 1965 which was released on the Mercury label.Matsubayashi, KMercury Records Collection: SR-61050: Quincy Plays For Pussycats / Quincy Jones/re ...
'' (Mercury, 1965]) – recorded in 1959-65
With
Michel Legrand
Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many son ...
* ''Legrand Jazz'' (Philips, 1958)
* ''After the Rain'' (Pablo, 1982)
* ''Michel Legrand and Friends '' (RCA, 1975)
With Brian Lynch (musician), Bryan Lynch
* '' Simpático'' (The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project) (ArtistShare, 2006)
* ''Bolero Nights for Billie Holiday'' (Venus, 2008)
With
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (incl ...
Yardbird Suite
"Yardbird Suite" is a bebop standard composed by jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker in 1946. The title combines Parker's nickname "Yardbird" (often shortened to "Bird") and a colloquial use of the classical music term "suite" (in a manner similar to ...
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...
* ''
The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall
''The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall'' is an album by Thelonious Monk, released in 1959. The concert included Hall Overton’s arrangements on Monk’s tunes (including a transcription of Monk's piano solo on "Little Rootie Tootie").
The ...
Oliver Nelson
Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album ''The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signifi ...
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
, 1962)
* ''
Full Nelson
A nelson hold is a grappling hold which is executed by one person from behind the opponent, generally when both are on the mat face down with the opponent under the aggressor. One or both arms are used to encircle the opponent's arm under the armpi ...
Oliver Nelson Plays Michelle
''Oliver Nelson Plays Michelle'' is an album by American jazz composer, arranger and saxophonist Oliver Nelson, featuring solos by Nelson and Phil Woods, recorded in 1966 for the Impulse! label.
'' (Impulse!, 1966)
* ''
Happenings
A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow during the 1950s to describe a range of art-related events.
History
Origins
Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happen ...
'' with
Hank Jones
Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored ...
Encyclopedia of Jazz
''Encyclopedia of Jazz'' (full title ''Leonard Feather Encyclopedia of Jazz (in the Sixties) Volume One: The Blues'') is an album released on the Verve Records, Verve label compiled by jazz journalist Leonard Feather featuring tracks which were r ...
Pee Wee Russell
Charles Ellsworth "Pee Wee" Russell (March 27, 1906 – February 15, 1969), was an American jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but he eventually focused solely on clarinet.
With a highly individualistic and sp ...
Lalo Schifrin
Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...
* ''
Samba Para Dos
''Samba Para Dos'' is an album by Argentine composer, pianist and conductor Lalo Schifrin and American trombonist Bob Brookmeyer recorded in 1963 and released on the Verve Records, Verve label.Payne, DLalo Schifrin discographyaccessed March 6, 201 ...
'' with
Bob Brookmeyer
Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Ge ...
(Verve, 1963)
* ''
Once a Thief and Other Themes
''Once a Thief and Other Themes'' is an album of film and television themes by Argentine composer, pianist and conductor Lalo Schifrin recorded in 1965 and released on the Verve label.Payne, DLalo Schifrin discographyaccessed March 14, 2012 The ...
Hoochie Coochie Man
"Hoochie Coochie Man" (originally titled "I'm Your Hoochie Cooche Man") is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1954. The song makes reference to hoodoo folk magic elements and makes novel use of a sto ...
'' (Verve, 1966)
* ''
Got My Mojo Workin'
"Got My Mojo Working" is a blues song written by Preston "Red" Foster and first recorded by R&B singer Ann Cole in 1956. Foster's lyrics describe several amulets or talismans, called ''mojo'', which are associated with hoodoo, an early African ...
'' (Verve, 1966)
With
Clark Terry
Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator.
He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...
George Wallington
George Wallington (October 27, 1924 – February 15, 1993) was an American jazz pianist and composer.
Early life
Wallington was born Giacinto Figlia (some sources give "Giorgio") in Sicily, and then moved to the United States (New York) with ...
* ''Jazz for the Carriage Trade'' (Prestige, 1956)
* ''The New York Scene'' (Prestige, 1957)
* ''Jazz at Hotchkiss'' (Savoy, 1957)
With others
*
Greg Abate
Greg Abate (born May 31, 1947)Yanow, ScottGreg Abate Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2011-02-05 is a jazz saxophonist, flautist, composer, and arranger. He grew up in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. In the fifth grade he began to play clarinet.
Career
...
, ''Kindred Spirits: Live at Chan's'' (Whaling City Sound, 2016) CD– live recorded in 2014
*
Franco Ambrosetti
Franco Ambrosetti (born 10 December 1941) is a jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and composer. He was born in Lugano, Switzerland; his father, Flavio, was a saxophonist who once played opposite Charlie Parker.Heartbop
''Heartbop'' is an album by the flugelhornist and composer Franco Ambrosetti which was recorded in 1981 and released on the Enja label.
'' (Enja, 1981)
*
Benny Bailey
Ernest Harold "Benny" Bailey (August 13, 1925 – April 14, 2005) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Biography
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Bailey briefly studied flute and piano before turning to trumpet. He attended the Cleveland Conserva ...
Louis Bellson
Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer, ...
and
Gene Krupa
Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of " Sing, Sing, ...
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...
, 1963)
*
Bob Brookmeyer
Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Ge ...
, ''
Gloomy Sunday and Other Bright Moments
''Gloomy Sunday and Other Bright Moments'' is an album by jazz trombonist and arranger Bob Brookmeyer recorded in 1961 for the Verve label. Brookmeyer said: "I consider it my pride and joy. I took many creative risks here, most based on the heels ...
'' (Verve, 1961)
*
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...
, ''
A Generation Ago Today
''A Generation Ago Today'' is an album by guitarist Kenny Burrell featuring standards associated with the Benny Goodman Sextet and Charlie Christian recorded in 1966 and 1967 and released on the Verve label.Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...
Anything Goes
''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...
'' (
Kudu
The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'':
* Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa
* Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa
The two species look similar, th ...
, 1975)
* the
Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band
The Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band was a jazz big band co-led by American drummer Kenny Clarke and Belgian pianist François "Francy" Boland. They were one of the most noteworthy jazz big bands formed outside the United States, featuring top ...
Al Cohn
Al Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist ...
Eddie Costa
Edwin James Costa (August 14, 1930 – July 28, 1962) was an American jazz pianist, vibraphonist, composer and arranger. In 1957, he was chosen as ''DownBeat'' jazz critics' new star on piano and vibes – the first time that one artist won two ...
, ''Eddie Costa Quintet'' (Interlude, 1957)
*
Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson (born November 1, 1926) is an American retired jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop ...
Bill Evans
William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...
, ''
Symbiosis
Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...
'' (MPS, 1974)
*
Gil Evans
Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role ...
, ''
The Individualism of Gil Evans
''The Individualism of Gil Evans'' is an album by pianist, conductor, arranger and composer Gil Evans originally released on the Verve label in 1964. It features Evans' big band arrangements of five original compositions (two cowritten with Miles ...
Stephane Grappelli Stephane may refer to:
* Stéphane, a French given name
* Stephane (Ancient Greece), a vestment in ancient Greece
* Stephane (Paphlagonia)
Stephane ( grc, Στεφάνη) was a small port town on the coast of ancient Paphlagonia, according to Arr ...
, ''Classic Sessions: Stephane Grappelli'' (Who's Who In Jazz, 1987)
*
Kenyon Hopkins
Kenyon Hopkins (January 15, 1912 – April 7, 1983) was an American composer who composed many film scores in a jazz idiom. He was once called "one of jazz's great composers and arrangers."
Biography Early life and education
Hopkins was ...
, ''
The Hustler
''The Hustler'' is a 1961 American sports romantic drama film directed by Robert Rossen from Walter Tevis's 1959 novel of the same name, adapted by Rossen and Sidney Carroll. It tells the story of small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson a ...
Milt Jackson
Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
John Lewis
John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
, ''
Essence
Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...
Gary McFarland
Gary Robert McFarland (October 23, 1933 – November 3, 1971) was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist and vocalist. He recorded for the jazz imprints Verve and Impulse! Records during the 1960s. '' Down Beat magazine'' said he made "one ...
Nellie McKay
Nell Marie McKay (born April 13, 1982) is a singer and songwriter. She made her Broadway debut in ''The Threepenny Opera'' (2006).
Early life and education
McKay was born in London to an English father, writer-director Malcolm McKay, and an ...
, ''
Obligatory Villagers
''Obligatory Villagers'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Nellie McKay. It was released on September 25, 2007. Bob Dorough appears as a guest vocalist on several tracks. Many of the musicians on the album reside in the Poco ...
'' (Hungry Mouse, 2007)
*
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...
Salute to Satch
''Salute to Satch'' is a tribute album to Louis Armstong by jazz trumpeter Joe Newman and His Orchestra recorded in 1956 for the RCA Victor label.Cohen, N.Benny Powell Discographyaccessed December 3, 2015
Reception
Allmusic awarded the album ...
'' (RCA Victor, 1956)
*
Anita O'Day
Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...
Pony Poindexter
Norwood "Pony" Poindexter (February 8, 1926, New Orleans, Louisiana – April 14, 1988, Oakland, California) was an American jazz saxophonist.
Poindexter began on clarinet and switched to playing alto and tenor sax. In 1940 he studied unde ...
, ''
Pony's Express
''Pony's Express'' is the debut album by saxophonist Pony Poindexter which was released on the Epic label in 1962.Fitzgerald, M.Pony Poindexter Leader Entryaccessed July 2, 2015
Reception
Ken Dryden of Allmusic stated: "It's a shame that Pony Po ...
'' (Epic, 1962)
*
Jimmy Raney
James Elbert Raney (August 20, 1927 – May 10, 1995) was an American jazz guitarist, born in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, known for his work from 1951 to 1952 and then from 1953 to 1954 with the Red Norvo trio (replacing Tal Farlow) and ...
, ''Jimmy Raney Quintet'' (Prestige, 1954) 0"* Jimmy Raney and Dick Hyman, ''Early Quintets'' (Prestige, 1969) – compilation
*
Shirley Scott
Shirley Scott (March 14, 1934 – March 10, 2002) was an American jazz organist. Her music was noted for its mixture of bebop, blues and gospel elements. She was known by the nickname "Queen of the Organ".
Life and career
Scott was born in Phi ...
Sahib Shihab
Sahib Shihab (born Edmund Gregory; June 23, 1925 – October 24, 1989) was an American jazz and hard bop saxophonist (baritone, alto, and soprano) and flautist. He variously worked with Luther Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Fletcher Henderson, ...
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
, ''
Still Crazy After All These Years
''Still Crazy After All These Years'' is the fourth solo studio album by Paul Simon. Recorded and released in 1975, the album produced four U.S. Top 40 hits: " 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" (No. 1), " Gone at Last" (No. 23), " My Little Town" (No. ...
'' (Columbia, 1975) - 1 track “Have a Good Time”
* Steely Dan, ''
Katy Lied
''Katy Lied'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released in 1975 by ABC Records. It was certified gold and peaked at No. 13 on the US charts. The single "Black Friday" charted at No. 37.
The album was the first afte ...
Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.
Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
, 1979)
*
Billy Taylor
Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the ...
, ''
Kwamina
''Kwamina'' is a musical with the libretto by Robert Alan Aurthur and music and lyrics by Richard Adler.
Production
The musical opened in out of town tryouts in Toronto, where, as noted by Ken Mandelbaum "The reviews were promising",Mandelbaum, ...
Kai Olé
''Kai Olé'' is an album by jazz trombonist and arranger Kai Winding recorded in 1961 for the Verve label.Payne, DKai Winding on Verve (1961-1967) accessed June 23, 2016
Reception
The Allmusic review by Tony Wilds observed "Before Herb Alpert p ...
'' (Verve, 1961)
Notes
References
* Gonzalez, Henry (1990). ''The Armadillo Years: A Visual History''
* Nisenson, Eric (1996). ''Round About Midnight – A Portrait of Miles Davis'' (2nd ed.). Da Capo: Printing Press. .
* Burke, Debbie (2011). ''The Poconos in B Flat''. ISBN 978-1469134598.