Phil Woods - For Astor & Elis - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Charlie Patton (1891-1934) was the most powerful blues recording artist of all time, as well as the most subtle. He was, and re-mains, a figure of immense significance in blues history. Rural entertainers were basically anonymous figures, or at best locally known,when Patton took up guitar around 1907 - due to Inchwoman troubles,Inch he later said. At that time, Patton was a resident of Dockery, avast Mississippi Delta plantation that housed some four hundred tenant families. He soon eclipsed the notary of the musician, one EarlHarris, he credited with teaching him guitar, and had (as one contemporary put it) Inchpeople just clownin' over him - they'd follow himeverywhere.Inch By 1910 he had already established most of the themes he would record two decades later, including Pony Blues, BantyRooster, Down the Dirt Road and Maggie, the latter the template for most of his blues in Spanish tuning. In 1929, Patton auditionedat Dockery for the Jackson record store owner H.C. Speir, who afterward said of him InchHe beat 'em all.Inch Following his recording debut,he recorded more sides in a single year (43) than any blues singer who preceded him. Although he recycled his most popular themesunder various ti- tles, he almost never slavishly parroted them. Shortly after he became a blues recording celebrity, Patton was expelledfrom Dockery. After 1930 he settled in the vicinity of Holly Ridge, Mississippi, living in a variety of nearby plantation towns. Justbefore recording in 1934, he was arrested for drunkenness at Belzoni, an event he depicted in High Sheriff Blues. Eighty-five daysafter completing his 1934 session, he died in Heathman, Mississippi, of a long-standing heart condition.Patton's legacy is pervasive and influenced generations of blues musicians. His greatness as a singer and musician is apparent from hisvery best, which obviously are among the greatest examples

PHIL WOODS / RIGHTS OF SWING - Rights of Swing (Remastered) Phil Woods - When he first came on the scene, Phil Woods was often referred to as InchThe New Bird,Inch in a nod to the legendary Charlie Parker. A testament to his genius on the saxophone to be sure. But while obviously indebted to Parker - as all modern jazz saxophonists of a certain era were - there is no question that Phil Woods was an original. After earning a degree in music from Juilliard in the early 1950's, Woods found himself in the orbit of the great Quincy Jones. At Jones' invitation Woods joined Dizzy Gillespie's infamous Jazz Ambassadors - a tour sponsored by the US State Department as part of a global cultural diplomacy initiative - and subsequently became a member of Jones' own touring band. This recording, his 9th album as a band leader, consists entirely of Woods' five-part Rights of Swing Suite. An ambitious large-scale composition based solidly on jazz traditions. A culmination of the influences the then 30 year artist had absorbed. Arguably considered one of Woods finest recordings, the record features a stellar section made up of Wood's fellow Quincy Jones band members. (It should be noted that these same musicians, for the most part, are also the section on Benny Bailey's Candid Records recording, Big Brass, recorded a a few months prior in November of 1960). Recorded at the Nola Penthouse Studios in New Your City on two dates in January and February of 1961, and conducted by Quincy Jones. The LP includes extraordinary liner notes by Candid A&R man and producer Nat Hentoff, and in-depth commentary from Woods himself, giving a context and insight that adds to the experience of hearing these extraordinary performances.

Phil Woods - Real Life [COMPACT DISCS] date 07/01/1991