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| 4.776 Ft
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| 1. | Suddenly It's Spring
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| 2. | Careless
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| 3. | Last Night When We Were Young
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| 4. | I Remember You
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| 5. | I'll Take Romance
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| 6. | Bewitched Bothered And Bewildered
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| 7. | Yesterdays
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| 8. | Come Rain Or Come Shine
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| 9. | Watch What Happens
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| 10. | Night And Day
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Jazz / Bop, Standards
Recorded January 21 & 22, 2007, Charlestown Road Studios, Hampton, NJ
Phil Woods - Saxophone, Arranger
Bill Charlap - Piano
Bill Goodwin - Producer, Drums
Brian Lynch - Trumpet, Arranger
Steve Gilmore - Bass
Paul Wickliffe Mastering, Engineer, Mixing
Suzanne Severini Producer
Ted Panken Liner Notes
Revered jazz elder and alto sax great Phil Woods displays his butterscotch tone, Bird-like fluency and soulful old school phrasing on American Songbook II. With his longstanding quintet of pianist Bill Charlap, trumpeter Brian Lynch, bassist Steve Gilmore and drummer Bill Goodwin, Woods and company breathe new life into familiar themes on this sequel to last year's acclaimed American Songbook. It represents yet another milestone in the colorful career of the 75-year-old jazz legend.
The chemistry of this potent quintet is apparent from jump on the uptempo opener, a burning rendition of Jimmy Van Heusen's "Suddenly It's Spring" which features Woods' urgent bop-fueled lines and Lynch's glistening trumpet work. A relaxed, midtempo reading of the '40s big band chestnut "Careless" features muted trumpet and shimmering horn interplay on the front line. Pianist Charlap adds an elegant touch to the proceedings which are imbued with a jaunty feel and a bluesy undercurrent. On Harold Arlen's poignant "Last Night When We Were Young," Woods plays a stirring solo intro before settling into the lush ballad with a remarkable depth of feeling.
Lynch's modernist arrangement of "I'll Remember You" is marked by intriguing reharmonizations and highlighted by Woods' liberated blowing on the swing section. On a gently swing 3/4 time rendition of "I'll Take Romance," Woods nimbly drops in a quote from "Body And Soul" while pianist Charlap tosses in a reference to "Holiday for Strings." Lynch's brilliant lyricism is showcased on a beautiful rendition of the lush Rodgers & Hart vehicle "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," while on the haunting minor key lament "Yesterdays," his mentor Woods displays an uncanny vocal quality on his solo, coyly dropping in a quote from the Beatles' "Yesterday" along the way. Charlap adds rhapsodic voicings on this oft-recorded Jerome Kern chestnut, tossing in a quote from "Nature Boy" on his solo. On a midtempo shuffle-swing rendition of "Come Rain Or Come Shine," Woods digs in with earthy abandon on his solo while nimbly quoting from Tadd Dameron's bop anthem "Hot House." "Watch What Happens" opens with a marvelous muted trumpet-piano duet by Lynch and Charlap while Lynch's reinventon of Cole Porter's "Night and Day" cleverly incorporates a reference to "Take The A Train" in the fabric of the arrangement. Woods affects a singing quality on his alto, flowing organically and effortlessly over the barline with old school bop aplomb.
Born on November 2, 1931 in Springfield, Massachusetts, Woods came up during the bebop era under the sway of alto sax titan Charlie Parker before developing his own sound by the mid 1950s. A student of Lennie Tristano, his early career included stints with Benny Carter, Charlie Barnet, Buddy Rich and the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra. Woods has led his own boppish groups since 1955 and in 1968 moved to France, where he worked for three years with the adventurous European Rhythm Machine. After returning to the United States in 1972, he formed a quintet that included bassist Steve Gilmore and drummer Bill Goodwin, who remained his rhythm tandem of choice through the '70s, '80s and '90s and also appear on Woods' American Songbook II.
The Phil Woods Quintet has long been famous for being the perfect outlet for the veteran altoist. In addition to bebop standards, the group usually includes inventive originals and lots of interplay between the five notable musicians, which in recent times has included trumpeter Brian Lynch and pianist Bill Charlap in addition to original members bassist Steve Gilmore and drummer Bill Goodwin. The American's Songbook II, like its predecessor, is a bit different in that all ten songs are standards from American popular music and usually shows rather than originating in the jazz world. Only "Careless" is a little obscure. The arrangements, often by Lynch, modernize the songs a bit while retaining their melodies and feel. There is some particularly beautiful playing along the way from Woods and, although this is not the most heated or intense recording by his group, it is quite pleasing, respectful and full of subtle adventures. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Phil Woods
Active Decades: '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s
Born: Nov 02, 1931 in Springfield, MA
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Big Band, Bop, Post-Bop, Hard Bop, Mainstream Jazz, Progressive Jazz, Standards
One of the true masters of the bop vocabulary, Phil Woods has had his own sound since the mid-'50s and stuck to his musical guns throughout a remarkably productive career. There has never been a doubt that he is one of the top alto saxophonists alive, and he has lost neither his enthusiasm nor his creativity through the years.
Woods' first alto was left to him by an uncle, and he started playing seriously when he was 12. He gigged and studied locally until 1948, when he moved to New York. Woods studied with Lennie Tristano, at the Manhattan School of Music, and at Juilliard, where he majored in clarinet. He worked with Charlie Barnet (1954), Jimmy Raney (1955), George Wallington, the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, Buddy Rich (1958-1959), Quincy Jones (1959-1961), and Benny Goodman (for BG's famous 1962 tour of the Soviet Union), but has mostly headed his own groups since 1955, including co-leadership of a combo with fellow altoist Gene Quill in the '50s logically known as "Phil & Quill." Woods, who married the late Charlie Parker's former wife Chan in the 1950s (and became the stepfather to singer Kim Parker), was sometimes thought of as "the new Bird" due to his brilliance in bop settings, but he never really sounded like a copy of Parker.
Woods popped up in a variety of settings in the 1960s -- on Benny Carter's classic Further Definitions record, touring Europe with the short-lived Thelonious Monk Nonet, and appearing on studio dates like the soundtracks to The Hustler and Blow Up. Always interested in jazz education (although he believes that there is no better way to learn jazz than to gig and travel constantly), Woods taught at an arts camp in Pennsylvania in the summers of 1964-1967. Discouraged with the jazz scene in the U.S., he moved to France in 1968. For the next few years, Woods led a very advanced group, the European Rhythm Machine, which leaned toward the avant-garde and included pianist George Gruntz. Their recordings still sound fresh and exciting today, although this venture would only be a detour in Woods' bebop life. In 1972, he returned to the U.S. and tried unsuccessfully to lead an electronic group that featured keyboardist Pete Robinson.
In 1973, Woods formed a quintet with pianist Mike Melillo, bassist Steve Gilmore, drummer Bill Goodwin, and guitarist Harry Leahey that had much greater success. Their recording Live at the Showboat officially launched the band, which today, after a few personnel changes, still tours the world. After Leahey left in 1978, it was known as the Phil Woods Quartet until trumpeter Tom Harrell (1983-1989) joined; his spot has since been assumed by trombonist Hal Crook (1989-1992) and trumpeter Brian Lynch. Pianist Melillo went out on his own in 1980, and his successors have been Hal Galper (1980-1990), Jim McNeely (1990-1995), and Bill Charlap; Gilmore and Goodwin have been with Woods since the group's start. Not just a bebop repertory band, Woods' ensembles have developed their own repertoire, taken plenty of chances, and stretched themselves while sticking to his straight-ahead path.
Woods contributed the famous alto solo to Billy Joel's hit recording of "Just the Way You Are" and has been one of Michel Legrand's favorite artists, guesting with Legrand on an occasional basis; he has made dozens of rewarding recordings himself through the years. He debuted as a leader in 1954 and has since recorded for Prestige, Savoy, RCA, Mode, Epic, Candid (the brilliant The Right of Swing in 1961), Impulse, MGM, Verve, Embryo, Testament, Muse, Omnisound, Enja, and Chesky, and has recorded with his QuintetQuartet for RCA, Gryphon, Adelphi, Clean Cuts, SeaBreeze (two sets adding Chris Swansen's inventive synthesizer to the band), Red, Antilles, Palo Alto, BlackHawk, Denon, and quite extensively for Concord. Some key sets include 1960's Rights of Swing on Candid, 1974's Musique Du Bois on 32 Jazz, 1981's Birds of a Feather from Antilles, and 2002's Americans Swinging in Paris from EMI.
An Italian label, Philogy (which has some broadcasts and live performances from Woods' bands), is named after the popular and still brilliant altoist. Still going strong well into the 21st century, Woods cut a live session with the Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra in 2005 that was released by Jazz Media in 2006. American Songbook, which features Woods' treatment of pop and jazz standards, appeared from Kind of Blue later that same year. In 2009, after years of attempting to secure the rights to interpret the work of writer A.A. Milne, Woods released Children's Suite -- a tribute to Milne's classic book Winnie the Pooh.
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
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