Chris Woods - From Here To Eternity (2019)

A terribly underrated alto saxophonist, Chris Woods spent most of his career as a sideman in the shadow of famous leaders: Clark Terry, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie. Yet he was a show-stopping improviser in his own right. Woods was arguably too much in thrall of Charlie Parker to be considered a major voice, but the passion, good humor, and excitement he conveyed in his solos were genuine and personal. Woods played his first gigs in his hometown of Memphis. He moved to St. Louis as a young man and played with the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra and also with trumpeter George Hudson. He led his first record date in 1952 for the United label; of the eight cuts performed, only two were released at the time (the entire session was released by Delmark in 1991 as Somebody Done Stole My Blues). Woods moved to New York in 1962. During the '60s and '70s he worked freelance, recording and performing with bands led by Gillespie, Terry, Sy Oliver, and Ted Curson, among others. In the '70s, he recorded several times with Clark Terry's Big Bad Band; he was one of the principal soloists on both alto and flute. In 1978 he recorded Modus Operandi for Delmark, featuring pianist Jim McNeely. Woods joined Count Basie in 1983 and remained until his death two years later. ~ Chris Kelsey