Phil Woods - Voyage

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:10
Size: 124,0 MB
Art: Front

(8:37)  1. A Beautiful Friendship
(7:13)  2. Philly Twist
(7:28)  3. These Foolish Things
(6:09)  4. A Smitty Ditty
(7:57)  5. Trouble Is A Man
(6:46)  6. I'll Be Around
(5:48)  7. Voyage
(4:09)  8. I'll See You Again

Phil Woods needs little introduction, but here is one anyway. A true purveyor of the Be Bop vocabulary, Woods might be considered the Johannes Brahms to Charlie Parker's Beethoven, serving as the stalwart keeper of the flame. One cannot accuse Phil Woods of copying Bird. There are many, many other lesser talents that did that. No, Phil Woods carved out his place and continued to preach the same finely crafted gospel for the past 50 years.

Voyage, recorded with the Bill Charlap Trio with Roy Hargrove aboard the Queen Elizabeth II finds the seventy-plus year old Woods in top form. Woods' tone is rich, full, and fluid, without any trace of effort. He breathes Be Bop from his horn. Whether a slow ballad or up-tempo vamp, Phil Woods displays a diamond hard expertise beyond reproach. This is a well-conceived disc of standards that are so expertly performed that the listener might expect an empathy form a lifetime of playing with the same personnel. This in spite of the fact that Woods and Charlap did not begin their professional association until 1995, when Woods recruited Charlap for his quintet. An upbeat "A Beautiful Friendship" and sumptuous title cut surf over a bright assembly of material. The quartet becomes a quintet when Roy Hargrove joins them on flugelhorn for Kenny Dorham's "Philly Twist" and "These Foolish Things."

This disc would serve well anyone who has only read about Phil Woods but never investigated him. It is live and immediate and readily accessible. Coupled with the intimate Contrasts, this pair of disc would make any jazz enthusiast smile. ~ C.Michael Bailey   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=9286#.UrivW7TJI0g

Personnel:  Phil Woods: Alto Saxophone; Roy Hargrove: Flugelhorn; Bill Charlap: Piano; Peter Washington: Bass; Willie Jones III: Drums

Voyage

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