“You hear about the struggles with substances and all that, but [Phil Wood] was a really a great guy. This was a great man.” Quote by Jon Gordon
“[Phil Wood] was a great artist, and he knew things. He could be mildly conversant in several languages.” ArtistLanguageWoodsGreat ArtGreat Artist Author:Jon Gordon
“[Phil Wood] knew about wine. He knew about food. He knew about art. He knew about classical music. He was interested in things.” ArtWineWoodsClassical Music Author:Jon Gordon
“Percy France told me, similarly, he and Bird used to hang out. They were good buddies. And he said, "Man, we'd just walk through town, sometimes with our horns. And we'd walk by past an Irish bar. And you'd stand outside and check out the music. And Bird would go in and sit in with these traditional Irish musicians. Then we'd past a Greek restaurant and we'd hear that. And Charles "Bird" Parker would go sit in with those guys. He was just listening to everything, reacting to everything.” MenSaidSometimesPastUsedGuyWalksListeningMusicianBirdTownsBarsChecksTraditionalFranceGreekRestaurantsHanging OutStanding OutHornsBuddyJust ListenReacting Author:Jon Gordon
“[Charlie Parker] was kind of a sponge and intrigued by it all.That's similar to what Phil [Woods] told me about Bird, too. Like he was into cooking. He was just into a lot of things. Yeah, it's about dealing with bebop and jazz and Trane [John Coltrain] and post-Trane and knowing the history. But you've got to live. You have to experience things. Know something in this world. So it was a very deep education about what it means to try and be an artist.” KnowsWorldTryingKindMeanArtistKnowingThis WorldBirdYeahCookingJazzWoodsPostsCharlieIntriguedVery DeepSpongesBebop Author:Jon Gordon
“Pretty fortunate that with the exception of two months when I was 23, that I worked in a law office pushing paper around. I was always able to eke out a living somehow. So I'm blessed.” TwoAbleLawMonthsOfficePaperBlessedFortunateExceptionPushingTwo Months Author:Jon Gordon
“I left school December of 1988. I was 21 at the time. And I hadn't quite finished my degree because I had done eight semesters, not understanding that I was going to have to finish the degree without the TAPP and Pell grant money that I had been using towards paying for much of my college tuition. And I didn't have any money. So I said, "Alright." And circumstances there were such that I thought it was maybe time to move on anyway.” SaidDoneSchoolMovingLeftUnderstandingCollegeCircumstancesDegreesEightFinishedGrantsAlrightDecemberTuitionSemesterTime To Move OnCollege TuitionPell Grants Author:Jon Gordon
“I was occasionally getting calls for some things. But I would say, 22 to 29 was a lot of scuffling. Hoping to get called for bad wedding gigs and I did do an off-Broadway show for about 15 months.” ShowsMonthsBroadwayGigsBroadway Shows Author:Jon Gordon
“I did do an off-Broadway show for about 15 months. '91 and '92. It was nice to have a steady paycheck for a while. It was Oliver Jackson and Earl May, Art Barron and myself were the house band. I was 24 and 25 at the time.” MayArtShowsHouseNiceMonthsBandSteadyBroadwayPaychecksBroadway Shows Author:Jon Gordon
“There were some things I was going and doing in Europe a little bit. Some festivals that brought me over. That was good. Some touring I did over there. But there was nothing major [from 22 to 29].” LittlesBitsMajorsLittle BitEuropeFestivalsTouring Author:Jon Gordon
“The first CD I had, that I think had had any redeeming qualities to it, I did when I was 25 with a relatively small label called Chiarascuro.” ThinkingFirstsQualityLabelsCdsRedeemingRedeeming Qualities Author:Jon Gordon