The Phil Woods Six - Live From the Showboat

This album is something of a cult recording among jazz enthusiasts because of its' virtually mistake free live performance. It was also curiously handled by RCA, the original producer of it and disappeared from publication for some years. The music itself is spectacular and contains my favorite jazz alto solo ever; Cheek to Cheek. Phil Woods was an alto saxophonist who, in his prime, was the best of the best and this album stands as great testament to that.

Without a doubt, an excellent recording of a live concert coveted by Phil Woods fans, and jazz lovers in general. The vinyl LP pressings were all plagued with poor quality grooves in the first two inches of one of the two record set. This CD set is excellent in quality. Delivery was timely. Well worth the little higher cost. Been waiting since 1984 for the possibility that the original recordings on tape could be reproduced to CD with high quality. Finally, satisfaction.

Great quality recording of one of the greatest jazz albums , transferred surprisingly well onto import CD Can definitely recommend and worth the £25 ish to get it, since not available as the original album

I own about 6 albums from Phil Woods, 4 with his own band. This one is THE BEST! A superb performance for Phil and the band does well to keep up with his energy level! The mixing gave too much to the percussionist's mic, making him the loudest instrument in the mix many times. But even with the flaws of a live mix, this was great night for jazz, captured for us to enjoy!

A great 2-CD set of a great 2-record original vinyl recording that’s been out of print in the US for far too long. The artistry, musicianship and arrangements presented in this live set are a pure joy and inspiring listening experience. Thanks to the Phil Woods for the intelligence to record his sextet at the height of his and his band mates powers.

Finest extended alto saxophone performance on record. Beautiful sound -- even better than the wonderful LPs! For anyone who loves Phil Woods, the alto sax, jazz, or just great music, this is essential. This is a DOUBLE CD, not a single CD as shown on the Amazon listing. Extraordinary care was taken with this issue. Well worth 28 bucks. Amaze your friends!

Phil Woods fans know about this recording of course. I'm augmenting my original vinyl copy with this. If you've never heard this and are a Phil Woods fan or fan of bebop and beyond jazz, this is a tremendously fantastic live recording of one of the very best working jazz ensembles. I cannot recommend this enough!!!! The Japan import thing is no problem, a little pricey but well worth it. Very good sound quality.

This is a great album by one of my favorite alto saxophone players. Musical motifs, ideas, improvisation and interplay par excellence. As I recall this recording was highlighted in a review in Time Magazine shortly after its' release and Woods received a Grammy for this live recording. Absolutely no regrets about this purchase.

学生の時に輸入レコードを購入した当時はターンテーブルに載ることはあまり無く、むしろ「ミュージック・デュ・ボア」をよく聴いていた記憶があります。今回廉価で購入できることもあり、遅ればせながらCDを購入しました。 正直なところ期待以上で驚きました。まず音質が良好です。演奏に関しても、学生当時はこぢんまりとしたリズム隊が物足りなく、ライブ感が乏しいと感じていたのですが、改めて聴くとバランスのとれた素晴らしいパフォーマンスです。 しばらく見過ごしていた魅力を再発見し満足しています。 贅沢をいえばお馴染みの曲が1〜2曲あればと思うのと、以前のようにLPのジャケットを眺めつつオリジナルのライナーノートを読む楽しみがないのが残念です。

Vielen Danke! Est war in Das Gutes Ordnung.

Ce double CD du label Sony Music Japan, est en fait la réédition d’un double album RCA où Phil WOODS était enregistré live dans un club de SILVER SPRING (Maryland) en novembre 1976 avec Mike MELLILO au piano, Harry LEAHEY à la guitare, Steve GILMORE à la basse, Bill GOODWIN à la batterie et Alyrio LIMA aux percussions. Le CD1, correspondant aux faces A et B du double LP, est très bon : la plupart des morceaux sont interprétés à l’alto sur un rythme assez rapide par le maestro en grande forme. L’album commence brillamment par « A sleeping bee » (pas si endormie que cela), suivi d’un étonnante « Rain danse » (une composition du guitariste que Phil interprète magistralement au saxophone soprano !!). Parmi les airs plus lents, soulignons la qualité de « Django’s castle » en hommage au guitariste manouche (suivie d’une belle et longue version de « Cheek to cheek » de presque 12 min) et de « Lady J », seule composition de Phil de ce premier CD qui précède une version longue (peut-être un peu trop !) de « Little niles », le pénultième morceau signé Randy WESTON. Le CD 2 commence par « A little piece », un excellent morceau composé par le pianiste : 8 min 10 de bonheur absolu d’un Phil au mieux de sa forme. On a droit ensuite à une longue « Brazilian affair » de plus de 20 min, suite de 4 morceaux très rythmés, dont le 3° (une danse) est interprété de nouveau au soprano par Phil. Après « I’m late », air au rythme endiablé interprété au soprano par Phil, on a droit à une belle version de « Superwoman », signé Stevie WONDER, avant de passer à un air plus brouillon pour enfin terminer sur « How’s your mama », morceau emblématique de Phil qui termine nombre de ses albums ou concerts… Un bon live du saxophoniste, embryon du futur grand quintet de la fin des années 80 qui verra Phil entouré, en plus des fidèles Steve et Bill, du pianiste Hal GALPER et du trompettiste Tom HARRELL.

IMHO, this is the best album of Phil Woods' long and illustrious career. I purchased the LP when it was first issued, the abbreviated NOVUS disc that came out in the early days of CD and missed out on the 2006 limited edition 2 disc Japanese import. Now I finally have my hands on a pressing of the the latter and the performances are every bit as good as I remember them to be.

Éste CD es muy raro, tenia el LP, pero ya muy maltratado; el CD representa una muy buena manera de mantener ese concierto en la colección.