BIOGRAPHY & SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
EDUCATION
Studied with Harvey LaRose in Springfield, Massachusetts
Studied with Lennie Tristano in New York City
One semester at Manhattan School of Music (1948)
Juilliard Conservatory (1948-1952)
PERSONAL APPEARANCES
(WITH BANDS, AS FEATURED PERFORMER AND WITH OWN GROUP - A PARTIAL LIST
Charlie Barnet Orchestra
Claude Thornhill
Benny Goodman
Buddy Rich Band
Phil and Quill
Quincy Jones
Thelonious Monk
Gerry Mulligan Concert Band
Oliver Nelson
Clark Terry Big Bad Band (co-founder)
The European Rhythm Machine
(his European Group from 1968-1973)
Michel Legrand
Dizzy Gillespie/Phil Woods All-Stars
Philip Morris Superband
The Phil Woods Quartet (1974-1983)
The Phil Woods Quintet
featuring Brian Lynch, Bill Mays, Steve Gilmore, Bill Goodwin
(current working group: 1983 - present)
RECORDINGS WITH OTHERS
(A PARTIAL LIST - PLEASE REFER TO DISCOGRAPHY FOR COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY)
Quincy Jones
STOCKHOLM SWEETENIN'; BIRTH OF A BAND; GREAT WIDE WORLD OF...; and several others
Dizzy Gillespie
WORLD STATESMAN; DIZZY IN GREECE; LIVE FROM BIRDLAND; and several others
Clark Terry
HAPPY HORNS; DEFINITIVE JAZZ SCENE; WHAT MAKES SAMMY SWING; and several others
Michel Legrand
LEGRAND JAZZ; LIVE AT JIMMY'S; IMAGES
John Lewis
ORCHESTRA U.S.A
Hank Jones
HAPPENINGS
Thelonious Monk
MONK AT TOWN HALL; STRAIGHT, NO CHASER
Manny Albam
THE BLUES IS EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS
Neal Hefti
PARDON MY DO-WAH
George Russell
NEW YORK, NY
Clark Terry & Ben Webster
HAPPY FACES
Oliver Nelson
FULL NELSON; MORE BLUES & THE ABSTRACT TRUTH; THE KENNEDY DREAM; and several others
Bill Potts
THE JAZZ SOUL OF PORGY & BESS
George Wallington
JAZZ FOR THE CARRIAGE TRADE
Bob Brookmeyer
GLOOMY SUNDAY AND OTHER BRIGHT MOMENTS
Sonny Rollins
ALFIE
Benny Carter
FURTHER DEFINITIONS; MY MAN BENNY, MY MAN PHIL; ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE
Morgana King
WITH A TASTE OF HONEY
Billy Joel
JUST THE WAY YOU ARE
Stephane Grappelli
MASTERS SESSION, VOL. 1
Steely Dan
DR. WU
Paul Simon
HAVE A GOOD TIME
Carly Simon
TORCH
Bill Evans
SYMBIOSIS
Lena Horne
A NEW ALBUM
American Jazz Philharmonic
AMERICAN JAZZ PHILHARMONIC
(Grammy Nominee: Best Jazz Instrumental Solo 1994)
Patrick Williams and His Big Band
SINATRALAND
Tony Bennett
THE ART OF ROMANCE
Bill Charlap
PLAYS GERSHWIN: THE AMERICAN SOUL
Grace Kelly
MAN WITH THE HAT (Pazz 18-11)
Also, Phil Woods has been featured on the sound track scores of THE HUSTLER, BLOW-UP, TWELVE ANGRY MEN, BOY IN A TREE and IT'S MY TURN
RECORDINGS AS FEATURED ARTIST AND WITH OWN GROUPS
(A PARTIAL LIST - PLEASE REFER TO DISCOGRAPHY FOR COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY)
PAIRING OFF
with Donald Byrd and Kenny Dorham
Phil and Quill (three albums)
with Gene Quill
SUGAN
with Red Garland
EARLY QUINTETS; POT PIE; WOODLORE;
WARM WOODS; RIGHTS OF SWING
The European Rhythm Machine (six albums)
including AT THE FRANKFURT JAZZ FESTIVAL
(Grammy Nominee - 1972: Best Jazz Performance by a Soloist & Best Jazz Performance by a Group)
IMAGES
with Michel Legrand
(Grammy Winner - 1976: Best Jazz Performance, Big Band)
THE PHIL WOODS SIX LIVE FROM THE SHOWBOAT
(Grammy Winner - 1977: Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Group)
I REMEMBER
featuring The Phil Woods Quartet (1979)
MORE LIVE
(Grammy Winner - 1982: Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Group)
AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD
by The Phil Woods Quartet
(Grammy Winner - 1983: Best Instrumental
Jazz Performance, Group; Winner Grand Prix du Disc, France)
DIZZY GILLESPIE MEETS THE PHIL WOODS QUINTET
HERE'S TO MY LADY
with Tommy Flanagan, George Mraz, Kenny Washington
ALL BIRD'S CHILDREN
by The Phil Woods Quintet
REAL LIFE
by Phil Woods' Little Big Band
FLOWERS FOR HODGES
by Phil Woods & Jim McNeely
THE PHIL WOODS QUARTET/QUINTET
20th ANNIVERSARY ALBUM
(Mosaic MD5-159 & MQ5-159)
AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER
The Phil Woods Quintet
THE PHIL WOODS QUINTET PLAYS
THE MUSIC OF JIM McNEELY
ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE
with Benny Carter
ASTOR & ELIS
MILE HIGH JAZZ
by The Phil Woods Quintet
CELEBRATION
by Phil Woods and the Festival Orchestra
(Grammy Nominee - 1997: Best Large Ensemble Jazz Performance)
THE REV & I
by Phil Woods with special guest Johnny Griffin
VOYAGE
by Phil Woods with the Bill Charlap Trio
GIANTS AT PLAY; GIANTS AT WORK SET 1
by Phil Woods and John Coates, Jr.
PLAY HENRY MANCINI
Phil Woods and Carl Saunders
THIS IS HOW I FEEL ABOUT QUINCY
Phil Woods' Little Big Band Plus
IN HER EYES; LIVE AT THE JAZZ SHOWCASE
Bob Lark/Phil Woods Quintet
AMERICAN SONGBOOK AND AMERICAN SONGBOOK II
Phil Woods Quintet
THE CHILDREN'S SUITE
Inspired by the poetry of A. A. Milne
AWARDS
New Star Award (alto sax): 1956
down beat Magazine
Playboy Poll: 1972
down beat Magazine Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition (clarinet): 1963
down beat Magazine Critics' Poll Winner (alto saxophone): 1975-1979,
1981-1985, 1988-1990, 1992, 1996-2001, 2008
down beat Magazine Readers' Poll Winner (alto saxophone):
1975-1995, 2000-2008, 2011
down beat Magazine Critics' Poll Winners (Phil Woods Quintet):
1988-1991
down beat Magazine Readers' Poll Winners (Phil Woods Quintet):
1985, 1988-1989, 1991
Leonard Feather's Golden Feather Award
(Phil Woods Quintet): 1985
Grammy Award for IMAGES with Michel Legrand: 1976
Grammy Award for The Phil Woods Six, Live from the Showboat: 1977
Grammy Award for More Live
by The Phil Woods Quartet: 1982
Grammy Award for At The Vanguard
by The Phil Woods Quartet: 1983
Grammy Award Nominations as soloist and/or group: 1971, 1980, 1994 (Big Band)
National Association of Jazz Educators Poll Winner (alto saxophone): 1987
National Association of Jazz Educators Poll Winners (Phil Woods Quintet): 1987
Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters, France: 1989
Jazz Times Readers' Poll (Phil Woods Quintet)
(tied with the Modern Jazz Quartet and Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers 1990; winners 1991)
East Stroudsburg University Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree: 1994
Induction into the American Jazz Hall of Fame: 1994
Induction into Omicron Kappa Delta: 1997
Beacons in Jazz Award: 2001
Jazz Times Readers' Poll (alto saxophone):
1990-1995, 2004-2006, 2008
Swing Journal Readers' Poll (alto saxophone): 2004
Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards
(Alto Saxophonist of the Year) 2005 - 2006
National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Fellowship: 2007
President's Merit Award from the Grammy Foundation: 2007
Kennedy Center Living Legends in Jazz Award: 2007
Governor's Awards for the Arts - Creative Community Award (with COTA): 2008
DePaul University Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree: 2009
COMPOSITIONS
Three Improvisations (Saxophone Quartet)
performed and recorded by The New York Saxophone Quartet, Quatuor de Saxophones de Montreal, Quator Gabriel Pierne and others.
Sonata for Alto and Piano (Four Moods)
performed and recorded by Victor Morosco, Neal Ramsey and others.
Rights of Swing
The Sun Suite
written under a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts - 1974
I Remember
a group of remembrances of great jazz musicians.
Deer Head Sketches
performed by the New York Saxophone Quartet and others
Piece for Piazzolla
written for the occasion of East Stroudsburg University Commencement
May 21, 1994
Fill the Woods with Light (formerly Triads)
commissioned by the American Dance Festival and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts through the Doris Duke Millennium awards for Modern Dance & Jazz Music Collaborations, with additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (for the David Parsons Dance Company) - 1997
The Children's Suite
(inspired by the poems of A. A. Milne from "Now We Are Six")
Phil Woods has also composed more than 200 additional songs, instrumental pieces and arrangements.