Though widely celebrated as one of the finest mainstream jazz tenor saxophonists of his generation, Rickey Woodard has also built a substantial catalog as a composer, with more than two hundred original compositions to his credit. His writing draws on the same deep roots in blues, swing, and bebop that define his playing, producing tunes well suited to small-group and big band settings alike. Original material features prominently on his leader albums, including the all-original Pineapple Delight as well as California Cooking! and its sequel. His long association with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra provided an additional outlet for his arranging and compositional work. Among the Woodard originals represented on AllSolos are Sand Dance, an ABAC-form piece, and The Tokyo Express, a blues. Before establishing himself as a bandleader, Woodard spent eight years in Ray Charles's band and performed with Jeannie and Jimmy Cheatham's Sweet Baby Blues Band, experiences that deepened his command of blues form and soul-jazz vocabulary. His writing reflects that background, favoring earthy melodies, hard-swinging grooves, and idiomatic blowing vehicles that give soloists room to stretch.
