Product Details

• Actors: Phil Woods
• Directors: Rich Lerner
• Format: Color, Digital Sound, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Jazzed Media
• DVD Release Date: April 1, 2005
• Run Time: 86 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0007XT83A
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,928 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

About the Actor

PHIL WOODS’ BACKGROUND:
Phil Woods joined the jazz music scene in New York during the late 1940’s when bebop was gaining popularity as the new direction of American jazz. After graduating from Juilliard Music School Phil quickly gained fame by joining the Birdland All Stars Tour of 1956, and then the Dizzy Gillespie State Department Tour throughout the Middle East. During the late 1950’s Phil worked with jazz luminaries including Quincy Jones and Thelonious Monk. Phil’s partnership with Gene Quill in the late 1950’s established Phil as a major jazz star and led to many exciting recordings during the 1960’s. After moving to Europe in 1968 Phil formed the "European Rhythm Machine" which kept Phil busy during the challenging period for jazz in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Phil returned to the United States in the early 1970’s and had one of the first major "crossover" hits in the popular field by recording the now legendary solo in Billy Joel’s top selling song "Just the Way You Are". Phil received several Grammy nominations and awards during the 1970’s and formed a 30 year working relationship with Quintet members Bill Goodwin and Steve Gilmore. Phil currently resides in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania and tours the world sharing his gifted interpretations of the Great American Songbook, while continuing to carry the torch of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in the bebop music idiom. Graham Carter, Producer

Product Description

LIFE IN E FLAT - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gotta' Get This One!, January 7, 2007

By 

Robert G. Rutkas "JazzManBob Rutkas" (Chicago, Il.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Phil Woods - A Life in E Flat (DVD)

As a lifelong fan of Phil Woods, I found this DVD to be a great addition to my library.

This DVD give us a wonderful insight into the trials and triumphs of this great jazz musician. The setting takes place in a recording studio as they are putting together Phil's album, "This Is How I Feel About Quincy." (This album is also available from Amazon and is highly recommended.)

I have followed Phil since the "Sixties" when I first heard him play. I also am a saxophonist.
It is very common for a young player to model their technique on a master. Phil Woods was mine, and remains so to this very day.

Phil's mastery of the alto sax is demonstrated in this DVD. Listen to "The Quintessence," a smokey/moody tune written by Q. This performance is a great forum for Phil's masterful technique, rich and glossy.

He is simply the best.

This DVD is a "must have" if you want the inside scoop on the history of the foremost altoist in jazz.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phil Triumphant, April 29, 2009

By 

C.A. Arthur (Tacoma, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Phil Woods - A Life in E Flat (DVD)

This is a wonderful film, especially the scenes of Phil Woods and fellow musicians making a first class CD. (When he plays Quintessence, you want to weep at the beauty and sensitivity.) I was surprised that Phil talked here rather frankly about his life and times. Over the decades I've seen the greatest alto sax player alive, he would barely acknowledge the audience's presence. With his leather cap tightly drawn down to his eyebrows, he seemed to be trying to be like Miles, telling all of us that he was so very cool. One night in Chicago, I heard him sneer at the crowd, "I'm not here to entertain you." In this film, however, the elderly Woods seems very humane and reflective. He makes a single reference to "Chan," and for that painful story of Woods you need to read the memoirs of his ex-wife, Chan Parker. The book has the same title as this DVD.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How can you lose?, August 27, 2008

By 

Uptown Guitar "Cranny" (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Phil Woods - A Life in E Flat (DVD)

Thank God for a player of Phil Woods' caliber who doesn't subscribe to the increasingly pervasive "jazz nazi" mindset that seems to relish the distance between player and listener. Woods could easily justify being a complete snob but has chosen a path that finds humor, joy and humility right there with extreme devotion to an art form. Brilliant musician, soulful human being, top-shelf credentials...well worth investigating. I love this guy!