Saturday, September 20th, 2025, 5:00 PM – House of Hard Bop.
American alto saxophonist Phil Woods (1931-2015) began serious musical studies at a high level early on. At the prestigious Juilliard School of Music, he studied composition, among other things, and wrote “classical” pieces, such as a piano sonata and a string trio. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1952, he was done with that genre. In the 1950s, he toured the world with Dizzy Gillespie, and a few years later, he returned to Europe with Quincy Jones. He also led his own groups.
In 1968, he embarked on a new adventure in Paris. There, he formed a quartet with the Swiss George Gruntz (piano) and Daniel Humair (drums). Frenchman Henri Texier played bass. Humair and Texier were already a rock-solid European rhythm section, accompanying countless American guests. This group, Phil Woods and his European Rhythm Machine, underwent a stylistic development over several years and was very successful on European stages.
In 1968, Alive & Well in Paris – Phil Woods and his European Rhythm Machine was released.
And When We Are Young is a composition by Woods. He wrote it in memory of Robert Kennedy—the brother of President John Kennedy—who was assassinated in 1968. In its nearly fifteen-minute run, the piece deviates at least three times. In a slow three-quarter time signature, Woods presents a moving melody in a minor key, supported by a bowed bass line. This is followed by a transition to a different mood: a faster tempo, four-quarter time signature, drums, and a more accentuated rhythm. Woods resumes the melodic theme and moves on to variation and improvisation. During a long, drawn-out crescendo, tension and dynamics rise. After the piano solo, it’s time for eight-to-eight, transitioning into a nice, long, sustained four-to-four. Drummer Daniel Humair isn’t shy about providing timely responses to the steaming Woods. There’s also ample time for a solo by bassist Henri Texier. He begins alone, meditatively, with numerous diphthongs, but soon develops—meter, the incorporation of piano and drums. An unexpectedly explosive moment heralds a brief period of “chaotic improv” that slowly fades out. The opening theme resumes, now a semitone lower. (Phil Woods incorporates a quote: Nature Boy, a composition by Eden Ahbez. The song became a number one hit for eight weeks in 1948 in Nat “King” Cole’s version.) But with this song, on its closing note, it appears that not everything has been said yet…
Alive and Well (Woods) taps into a different barrel. The four-piece powerhouse revs to its highest pitch from bar one, and continues to do so for three and a half minutes.
Freedom Jazz Dance (Eddie Harris) maintains the same tempo and energy, but expands considerably with long solos by pianist Gruntz and drummer Humair.
With Stolen Moments, the brilliant standard by Oliver Nelson, we arrive in a blues form.
Doxy, a well-known composition by Sonny Rollins, brings this series of pieces to a relaxed close. In terms of duration, it’s the counterpart to And When We Are Young. A minute and a half! There’s also a similarity: after the closing beat, Woods still has something to say.
In 1970, French fashion designer Pierre Cardin created a record label, ‘Les Disques Pierre Cardin’. Phil Woods and his European Rhythm Machine was released on this label in 1970. The lineup was almost the same, but now the Briton Gordon Beck was on the piano. That’s one for me…
Two pieces, with a somewhat longer duration. Forget Doxy, Ultimate Choice (Gordon Beck) transports us to a completely different landscape of Woods’s world. From there, we are regularly catapulted into space. Within the ten-minute timeline, there are shifts between sections with a very high tempo and, in no time, sections of a more exhaled nature. The speeds are almost impossible to keep up with, with pianist Gordon Beck’s swaying notes being particularly striking. The main theme also revolves at high speed within that tempo. The theme’s heading serves as a recurring anchor throughout the entire process. Fire bursts from the speakers. Drummer Daniel Humair opens the piece and, at the end of an intense solo, rhythmically announces the final theme. The much-shortened reprise of the theme’s heading ends with Humair’s cymbal and a surprising glissando from bassist Texier. Pffff…
In Chromatic Banana (Woods), pianist Gordon Beck switches to electronic keyboard. That sound, combined with the exciting thematic opening section—many repeating motifs, including in bass and drums—is involuntarily reminiscent of jazz rock. Gradually, the thought might arise: could things have been a bit more compact? (The total duration is over 12 minutes.) Bassist Texier surprises with his vocal contribution—singing along in unison to his plucked solo line. He’s not the first bassist to vocally add an upper octave.*)
House of Hard Bop – Eric Ineke**) *)
