Saxophonists James Moody and Phil Woods honored at Academy event that showcases the future of jazz and its roots

GRAMMY.com
Bruce Britt

During the fourth annual GRAMMY Salute To Jazz at the Music Box @ Fonda in Hollywood Tuesday night, the accomplished jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader Phil Woods recalled being approached by a stranger years ago. "Are you the guy on that Billy Joel record?," the stranger asked Woods, referring to the saxophonist's famous solo turn on Joel's 1978 pop hit, "Just The Way You Are." When Woods affirmed that he, indeed, did perform the famed solo, the young man queried:

"Have you done anything on your own?"

Woods' uproarious anecdote underscored the growing importance of the GRAMMY Salute To Jazz. Since its 2004 inception, the event has transcended its intended purpose of celebrating some of the greatest living legends in jazz music by presenting them the Recording Academy President's Merit Award. It has grown into a sort of torch passing ceremony, where jazz giants like Oscar Peterson, Benny Golson, Jon Hendricks and Clark Terry perform with the select group of North American high school jazz musicians that comprise the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles. After hearing the Jazz Ensembles perform an impressive and mature interpretation of Miles Davis' "Seven Steps To Heaven," Recording Academy President Neil Portnow noted that, "the future of jazz is in remarkable hands."

But as Woods' story so profoundly illustrated, the GRAMMY Salute To Jazz has also become a highly anticipated event where musical greats share priceless stories about themselves and their peers. Hosted by saxophonist and two-time GRAMMY Award winner Tom Scott, the presentation honored two legendary saxophonists, James Moody and Phil Woods. 

As Scott explained, Woods and Moody not only have performed and recorded lots of great music, both are just one degree removed from bebop pioneers Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie "Bird" Parker. "The gentlemen we are saluting…have played important parts in my life since I was very young," Scott said, before poking fun at Moody and Woods, respectively. "We have a great jazz ambassador and a great jazz curmudgeon."

Living up to Scott's comic introduction, Woods offered up hilarious recollections of fellow sax players Al Cohn, Zoot Sims and Gene Quill. But funniest of all were Woods' recollections of himself at age 14. "I had a zoot suit so tight, I had to butter my feet to put my pants on," the saxophonist told the chuckling crowd. A four-time GRAMMY winner and recipient of the Down Beat Critics' Poll for alto sax a record 21 times, Woods has performed with Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Benny Goodman, Sonny Rollins, Benny Carter, Thelonious Monk, Paul Simon, Steely Dan and countless more.

Leading the GJE through interpretations of "Willow Weep For Me" and "All Bird's Children," Woods demonstrated the sable, clarion tone that prompted critics to dub him "The New Bird" upon his emergence in the 1950s.

James Moody provided his own stories, recalling his youth in a Newark, N.J., housing project. "You are what you hear, and I was very fortunate to have a mother who loved jazz," Moody said. Emphasizing how times have changed for the better, Moody spoke directly to the young Jazz Ensembles students as he recalled being refused service in restaurants in the Jim Crow South during the early 1950s.

Moody would go on to master the alto, tenor and soprano saxophones, and would become one of the first flute virtuoso's of jazz. Renowned for his stints in the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, Moody is best known for composing (with Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh) the 1952 hit "Moody's Mood For Love," an improvisation based on the classic, "I'm In The Mood For Love." Moody's composition has since become a classic in its own right, interpreted by stars like George Benson, Aretha Franklin, Qunicy Jones, Queen Latifah, Van Morrison and others.

Performing the tunes "Benny's From Heaven" and "Moody's Groove" during Tuesday night's show, Moody complemented his muscular alto sax solos with equally inventive vocals that incorporated quicksilver scat lines. During his interpretation of "Moody's Mood For Love," the saxophonist displayed his wide-ranging musical gifts, donning a baseball cap and rapping portions of the lyric.

Host Tom Scott dedicated Tuesday's show to Michael Brecker, the GRAMMY-winning and currently nominated saxophonist who died recently at age 57. In Brecker's honor, Phil Woods performed a rendition of his composition "Goodbye, Mr. Evans," which the saxophonist renamed "Goodbye, Mr. Brecker."

The Jazz Ensembles was conducted by Ron McCurdy (professor of jazz studies at USC Thornton School of Music) and Justin DiCioccio (dean of studies at Manhattan School of Music).