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| The Children's Suite |
| Phil Woods |
| első megjelenés éve: 2009 |
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| (2009)
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CD |
| 4.565 Ft
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| 1. | The Good Little Girl
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| 2. | Come out with Me
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| 3. | Sneezles
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| 4. | Pinkle Purr
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| 5. | Down by the Pond
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| 6. | Waiting at the Window
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| 7. | Buttercup Days
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| 8. | The Friend /Us Two [Narration]
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| 9. | Furry Bear
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| 10. | Knight-In-Armour
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| 11. | Wind on the Hill /The Engineer [Narration]
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| 12. | Solitude
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| 13. | The Morning Walk
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| 14. | In the Dark /The End [Narration]
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Jazz / Post-Bop
Phil Woods - Conductor, Alto Saxophone
Vicki Doney - Vocals
Bob Dorough - Vocals, Keyboards
Peter Dennis - Narrator
Nelson Hill - Alto Sax, Flute
Tom Hamilton - Tenor Sax, Clarinet
Roger Rosenberg - Baritone Sax, Bass Clarinet
Ken Brader III - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Robert Routch - French Horn
Rick Chamberlain - Trombone
Eric Doney - Piano
Mark Williams - Guitar
Steve Gilmore - Bass
Bill Goodwin - Drums
Paul Peabody - Violin
Joanna Farrer - Violin
Juliet Haffner - Viola
Mary Wooten - Cello
The culmination of forty years of work by acknowledged jazz master Phil Woods, offering original musical settings for A.A. Milne's beloved poems from "Now We Are Six". Scored for fourteen pieces and two vocalists (Bob Dorough and Vicki Doney) with narration by actor Peter Dennis.
* NEA Jazz Master Phil Woods provides the jazz world with a groundbreaking merger of the poetry of A.A. Milne with modern jazz compositions and arrangements
* Phil Woods is joined by jazz vocal great Bob Dorough and English actor Peter Dennis- the only person authorized by the A.A. Milne estate to recite Milne's poetry
* "The Children's Suite" is a magical journey of music and poetry that appeals to listeners of all ages
For all of the confidence and forcefulness in Phil Woods' playing, his improvisations have always had an element of surprise and discovery. When he catches himself in a creative fillip of the kind the poet Richard Wilbur called "the very happiest intellection," Woods' delight is apparent to his listeners. It is one of the great rewards of hearing him. Little wonder, then, that his first meeting with the works of A.A. Milne stimulated his muse.
Peter Dennis serves as the narrator, delivering his incomparable readings from the Milne texts. Vicki Doney, who sang with 100 pianos at the opening ceremony of the 1984 Olympics, is as intimate and subtle singing Christopher Robin's words as she was expansive doing Gershwin in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Her husband Eric, one of the Olympics pianists, heads the rhythm section with Phil's longtime colleagues bassist Steve Gilmore and drummer Bill Goodwin. Bob Dorough interprets Milne's lyrics and sings Phil's melodies with the same infectiousness and musicianship he has given generations of jazz fans and the millions of youngsters who grew up watching Multiplication Rock. Soaring over the band, interacting with his musicians and cast, playing at the top of his game, Phil finally brings his creation fully to life.
---Doug Ramsey
Phil Woods looked at his children's book collection many decades ago, and was inspired by the writings of A.A. Milne to the point of producing this tribute to Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin, and friends with musicians from New York City and the Delaware Water Gap, PA area he calls home. He struggled for decades to obtain the legal rights to musically interpret Milne's verses. Some of the tracks are narrated, many others use a string section and a horn complement, while vocalists Vicki Doney and Bob Dorough sing the lyrics with the innocence and wide-eyed fascination only young kids possess. As it is in theory a suite, the storylines work from beginning to end, effectively telling tales of childhood, adolescence, and fantasy. Vicki Doney's higher pitched, girlish voice is perfect for these stories of growing up, questioning everything and wondering why. Veteran saxophonists Tom Hamilton (tenor and clarinet,) Roger Rosenberg (baritone and bass clarinet) Nelson Hill (alto and flute,) trombonist and co-collaborator Rick Chamberlain, and Woods (alto sax exclusively) add bright colors to the songs, and effusively solo. The longtime rhythm section of Woods with bassist Steve Gilmore and drummer Bill Goodwin are here, with Eric Doney on piano, all sounding solid as per usual. The big-band jazz shuffle "The Good Little Girl" kicks off the suite, a cute song with Vicki Doney curious about why she can't be just a little mischievous, followed by the stringy ballad "Come Out with Me," where she acts on this come hither attitude. "Sneezles" is one of several whimsical recitations by the British actor and Milne family confidante Peter Dennis, with Eric Doney in duet, sometimes counterpointed and circus-like during "Waiting at the Window," starting with a statement of "The Friend" before moving into the Pooh tale "Us Two" over ten minutes, or saying good night on "In the Dark" before the restless bedtime cautionary tale "The End." Woods is more conductor than performer, but his visceral solos always perk things up, especially for "Buttercup Days," a song of pure nostalgia and reminiscence with a solo as purely blues derived as only the master alto saxophonist can play it. There is a relaxed, reflective mood that dominates the proceedings when the string quartet steps forward, with "Down by the Pond" the most interactive, as they and Vicki Doney play together. Dorough is in his Schoolhouse Rock element for the bluesy "Pinkle Purr," and works alongside Vicki Doney for several numbers, the shuffling "The Morning Walk" most poignant with the swinging big band. A recording for specific taste, and not for every bop fan who idolizes Woods, it is nonetheless a heartfelt project that reminds us of the child that remains inside, no matter your age. Partial proceeds in the selling of this recording will go to a good cause, the Pocono Transitional Housing (P.A.T.H) project. ~ Michael G. Nastos, 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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