SEPTEMBER 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lexington, VA -- Alto sax legend Phil Woods will bring his quintet to the Lenfest Center for a free concert of electrifying jazz on Saturday September 27 at 8:oopm. The concert is the opening event of Washington and Lee's Sonoklect Festival. No tickets are needed for this concert, which is sure to be popular, so plan to arrive early for this exciting event.

The list of Phil Woods employers is impressive: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Barnet, Claude Thornhill, Benny Goodman, Buddy Rich, Quincy Jones, Michel Legrand and Thelonious Monk to name but a few. But it is with his combo that he has come into his own as the premier alto saxophonist of his generation. The Phil Woods Quartet, turned quintet a decade later, has been mesmerizing audiences and record buyers since 1974.

The name Phil Woods evokes in most jazz fans the image of a searingly hot tone and intensely driving rhythmic pulse, as well as improvisations that grab listeners by the throat and never lets go. He's an alto sax player (and clarinetist) whose lineage is clearly rooted in Charlie Parker, Benny Carter and Johnny Hodges.

After a five-year expatriate stay in Europe that began in 1968, Woods returned to the United States, eventually settling in the Poconos. Early in 1974, the altoist formed the first of the various quartets and quintets that have been his bread-and-butter over the last quarter-century of touring and recording.

For more information contact Sonoklect director, Terry Vosbein at 540/458-8851.


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