A die-hard bopper, alto saxophonist Phil Woods nonetheless manages to push the boundaries of straight-ahead hard bop on Souvenirs. As far as the '90s go, this is one of Woods' best. This version of Woods' quintet, most notably featuring trumpeter Brian Lynch, is a solid entity with much forward momentum. Lynch, a member of Art Blakey's last Jazz Messengers lineup, is easily one the best trumpeters around, displaying a knack for interesting note choices and lines that border on the progressive. Woods sounds thoroughly engaged throughout, attacking each tune with his characteristic fire.

One of the best living alto saxophone players, Phil Woods returned to Venus Records for the first time in six years with his star-studded quintet which includes Brian Lynch and Bill Charlap. Recorded in 2008, Ballads & Blues also represents Woods' first composer's songbook dedicated to Billy Strayhorn. Choosing predominantly slow and medium tempos, Woods shines with his big, warm and expressive tone, soulful blues feel and wailing melancholy. The supporting cast is also superb. This album will be remembered as one of Woods' best.

Jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer and four-time Grammy Award winner Phil Woods studied music with Lennie Tristano, who influenced him greatly, at the Manhattan School of Music and at the Juilliard School. Chasin' The Bird is an album, originally released in 1998 for Japanese Venus Records. The supporting quartet were Brian Lynch, Steve Gilmore, Bill Goodwin, and Bill Charlap.

The Phil Woods Quintet shines on this collection of standards from the movies, but their fresh approach to each of these very familiar songs is what makes this release special.

Grammy-winning trumpeter and composer Brian Lynch continues his Songbook series with Vol. 2: Dance the Way U Want To, a reclamation of his back catalog through remakes and reinvention. Filtering hard bop through an Afro-Caribbean lens, Lynch kicks off this edition with a brand new tune: “E.P.’s Plan B,” a hipswaying tribute to Latin jazz piano legend Eddie Palmieri that perfectly balances improvisation with danceability. As it happens, Palmieri isn’t the only one of Lynch’s heroes to receive a nod – well-respected trumpeter Tom Harrell gets some love in a groovy, eponymous tune, while the infamous Rudy Ray “Dolemite” Moore gets a shout out in the oddly strident “Disco Godfather,” another new song.

The first in a series of “Songbooks” intended to reclaim the many original compositions that Lynch has recorded for other labels throughout his distinguished career as a recording artist, Bus Stop Serenade focuses on music originally composed between the mid 1990s through the mid 2000s, configured here for the classic quintet formation of Lynch on trumpet and flugelhorn along with longtime front line partner Jim Snidero on alto saxophone, the redoubtable creative Orrin Evans on piano, stalwart virtuoso Boris Kozlov on bass and the swingingly inventive Donald Edwards on drums…