This Is How I Feel About Quincy

Phil Woods | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 5, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Jazzed Media
• ASIN: B000305944
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #213,007 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

This session recorded in 2004 features alto sax great Phil Woods and his Little Big Band performing memorable jazz songs written by legendary composer/arranger Quincy Jones. Phil is joined by 8 other jazz musicians including Bill Charlap on piano and Brian Lynch on trumpet.

"As this marvelous record so eloquently bears out, Phil Woods today is at the very top of his form—and that, my friends, is a claim based on nearly fifty years (help!) of listening to this extraordinary artist, live and on record. Here Phil pays homage to another dear friend, happily very much alive, and Phil’s junior by about 16 months, the one and only Quincy Jones. The title is derived from a l956 LP—Quincy’s first as a leader—called "This Is How I Feel About Jazz". This is not the place for even a brief resume of Q.’s amazing career; suffice it to say that by then he had already developed an original voice as an arranger and composer and paid his dues as a member of Lionel Hampton’s trumpet section, sitting next to Clifford Brown and Art Farmer. (Digression: It is a tribute to Phil as a person as well as a musician that he has been able to maintain his own regularly constituted group for lo, these many years; Steve Gilmore and Bill Goodwin were on board when the quartet started in 1974; it became a quintet nine years later. Pianists and horns have also shown staying power; Brian’s been on board since 1992, and Bill Charlap joined in ‘95; he’s on his own now as one of the best and brightest, and he and Brian just recently joined forces on a fine CD.) Quincy is bound to love it. As will you, dear listener, and not just for a spin. This is the real thing." Dan Morgenstern- Director, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phil Woods late in his career . . ., December 11, 2004

By 

Jan P. Dennis "Longboard jazzer" (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: This Is How I Feel About Quincy (Audio CD)

. . . has mellowed like fine Belgium beer. What he may have lost in fire he's more than made up for in sheerly gorgeous phrasing, as well as a kind of savvy penetration to the heart of his increasingly well-chosen material; his recent disc with Herbie Mann--and even more this one--proves it beyond a doubt.

This record, a salute to Quincy Jones, whose bands Woods played in extensively in the mid-sixties, finds the alto master at the absolute top of his game. Pianist Bill Charlap, especially, seems to have caught the deep-swinging vibe of these proceedings as he consistently sets the perfect rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic table for the other bandmembers. But all the band members, from the core quintet to the additional four filling out the little big band, are totally locked into the classic jazz sensibility laid down here.

Jones richly deserves such a retrospective, constantly proving to be an unending fount of tuneful creativity equally adept at writing swing, blues, bop burners, or ballads. Even though straight-ahead jazz of this sort isn't generally my cup of tea, I'm entirely takes by this warm and wonderful disc.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine and Mellow, November 19, 2004

By 

John Tapscott (Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: This Is How I Feel About Quincy (Audio CD)

"This is How I Feel About Quincy" is, as far as I know, Phil's third Cd with his Little Big Band. The band consists of his quintet augmented by two additional reed players and two low brass players. One of those earlier CD's "Evolution" on Concord may well be my favorite Phil recording. The other, "Real Life" on Chesky is a winner, as well.

This CD is up to the same standard musically as those, but the feel is a bit different. Those CD's emphasized hard blowing, whereas "Quincy" is more mellow and laid back. The tunes with one exception are by Quincy Jones, who in the late '50's and early '60's was involved in real jazz and often employed Woods in his orchestras. Many of the tunes will be familiar to fans of Quincy's music from that era, and they are all expertly arranged by either Woods or Brian Lynch. There is a nice variety here with up tempo numbers like "Meet Benny Bailey"; "Hard Sock Dance" and the rollicking "Belly Roll"; ballads such as "Quintessence" and "The Midnight Sun Will Never Set", and medium tempo groovers such as "Jessica's Day," and the relaxed "For Lena and Lennie." Jones certainly had a gift for writing memorable melodiies. Phil adds his own attractive tribute, "Q's Delight."

The sound of the Little Big Band is most agreeable. The French horn and trombone (euphonium in several cases) add considerable depth and color to the ensemble. The soloists are in good form as well, with Woods, pianist Bill Charlap, and trumpeter Lynch getting the most space. Lynch is especially outstanding, and for my money takes solo honours on this CD. Phil, as always, plays with depth and verve, and Charlap is an understated but very effective soloist. Reed players Nelson Hill, Tom Hamilton and French hornist Bobby Routch also get several solo spots, with Routch being especially effective on "Belly Roll".

But what one most remembers from listening to this CD is the overall sound of the band, warm and mature. There's no major fireworks here and no one is aiming for the fences. But everyone is having a good time, just like long-time friends getting together and having a good conversation about subjects of mutual interest. It is our privilege to listen in.

Congratulations to Phil, the Band, and Graham Carter of Jazzed Media for this beautifully recorded, well-rounded 68 minute CD. This Cd is one of the treasures of 2004 and warmly recommended to Phil fans and to all who enjoy mature, melodic jazz.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars how I feel about Quincy, September 13, 2005

By 

Francis P. Keogh "F.P.Bebop" (Johnston, R.I.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: This Is How I Feel About Quincy (Audio CD)

I have been a Phil Woods fan for a long time. the man is a brilliant composer, arranger, and sax player. His work on this CD is certainly on par with his best work. I highly recommend this CD.

F.P.Keogh, R.I.