Phil Woods R.I.P.

[BillF]

On 10/2/2015 at 3:07 PM, Kevin Bresnahan said:

I see that cover photo of "Greek Cooking" with Phil smoking a cigarette and think about the Emphysema it likely caused and I'm glad that cigarette smoking is no longer a "requirement" to be an adult like it was 50 or 60 years ago.

So that's why I never became adult! 

[Daniel A]

On 2015-10-02 at 4:07 PM, Kevin Bresnahan said:

I see that cover photo of "Greek Cooking" with Phil smoking a cigarette and think about the Emphysema it likely caused and I'm glad that cigarette smoking is no longer a "requirement" to be an adult like it was 50 or 60 years ago.

While true, is it not Phil on the left on that cover (not smoking)?

[Kevin Bresnahan]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

While true, is it not Phil on the left on that cover (not smoking)?

Good catch. Phil is not smoking in that picture.

[sgcim]

I remember talking about PW's emphyzema, with Wayne Wright, who himself was undergoing an experimental treatment for the disease at the time (he passed away six months later). When I told him Phil also had it, he wasn't surprised. He had been on the road with Phil, and he described his behavior as "sinning". 

I asked him what he meant, and he said, "Oh, you know, just sinning in every possible way he could; smoking, drinking, gambling, cussing- just sinning in general!"

When I told my devout, Lutheran brother that story, he came up with a nickname for him; 'Filth Woods'.

[clifford_thornton]

this makes me chuckle, even if emphysema is no joke (my grandmother had it).

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I asked Phil how he was doing with his emphysema at one of his shows and he said that he wished that he had never smoked. He said he had trouble taking a breath and that he needed oxygen when he got off stage. At his later shows, he started playing with an oxygen tube.

Edited June 6, 2018 by Kevin Bresnahan

[BillF]

Plenty of humor re the apparatus on this, the last date - "The first hit is free" 

Edited June 6, 2018 by BillF

[Ken Dryden]

I remember seeing Phil Woods twice during IAJE (2007?) in NYC and he appeared to be gasping for breath when he wasn't playing. He wasn't yet hooked up to a tube, but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't get some oxygen once offstage. 

 

 

[sgcim]

I saw him come out with the tank twice- once at MSM with the MSM Big Band playing Cannonball's part in a recreation of the "New Bottles, Old Wine' album, and it was the same thing; gasping for air when he wasn't playing. The second time was at a clinic he did at LIU in Brooklyn. he walked in late, dressed like a lumberjack, dragging his tank behind him on a little dolly.

[medjuck]

What's "MSM"?

[sonnymax]

8 minutes ago, medjuck said:

What's "MSM"?

Manhattan School of Music

[Fer Urbina]

On 6/6/2018 at 5:13 PM, Ken Dryden said:

I remember seeing Phil Woods twice during IAJE (2007?) in NYC and he appeared to be gasping for breath when he wasn't playing. He wasn't yet hooked up to a tube, but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't get some oxygen once offstage.

Saw him in 2004(?). He requested no smoking in the room, and had oxygen during intermission.

F

[Daniel A]

I saw Woods in 2000 in a Monk tribute band including Johnny Griffin, Steve Lacy, Harold Land, Billy Higgins and Ronnie Mathews, among others. Several of them passed away in the following years. Steve Lacy sounded very frail, and while Phil Woods face looked completely grey (typically a result of a lack of oxygenated blood) he sounded better than most of the others in the band, except maybe for Mathews.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

13 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I saw Woods in 2000 in a Monk tribute band including Johnny Griffin, Steve Lacy, Harold Land, Billy Higgins and Ronnie Mathews, among others. Several of them passed away in the following years. Steve Lacy sounded very frail, and while Phil Woods face looked completely grey (typically a result of a lack of oxygenated blood) he sounded better than most of the others in the band, except maybe for Mathews.

What a great show that must have been. You're lucky you got to see that. I never got to see Lacy or Land.

[Daniel A]

On 2018-06-09 at 1:34 PM, Kevin Bresnahan said:

What a great show that must have been. You're lucky you got to see that. I never got to see Lacy or Land.

It was a great show, perhaps not because immortal music was played but because of the range of great musicians on the same scene at the same time. 

During the next act I saw Land and one of the other players strolling behind the audience; it was an outdoor festival and the weather was as great as a Swedish summer night can be. He had a very warm smile and seemed to enjoy just relaxing and listening in. Nobody around him seemed to take note. I wanted to approach him and say something about how I appreciated his music, but he seemed so happy and peaceful that I decided I didn't want to disturb.

The next year he was gone, but I didn't regret I let him be.

[sidewinder]

I saw both Land and Lacy in the US in 1999 and both were on blistering form. Managed to have a short chat with Harold Land too - he was a bit wary but friendly.

Edited July 4, 2018 by sidewinder