Customer Reviews

Phil Woods - A Life in E Flat

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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.

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.

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!