Phil Woods
Alto Sax Solo on
Just The Way You Are

About

Phil Woods's alto sax solo is the sole improvisation on this recording of "Just The Way You Are". Spanning one chorus of the 16-bar form in D at a moderate 139 BPM with a rock feel, Woods, a bebop-trained musician who had studied with Lennie Tristano and played with Dizzy Gillespie, brought genuine jazz sophistication to the pop context, his warm tone and flowing lines elevating the ballad beyond its adult contemporary trappings. Woods's alto saxophone improvisation combines melodic clarity with harmonic sophistication, each phrase flowing naturally into the next.

Phil Woods was 45 to 46 years old at the time.