bird with strings…and more! starring phil woods
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“Bird with Strings” is actually the name of one of the best selling records in the history of Jazz. Originally produced by the late Norman Granz, the album featured Charlie Parker with a small string section, and included studio recordings as well as excerpts from the 1950 JATP Carnegie Hall Concert.
Master saxophonist Phil Woods, one of Bird’s keenest disciples, has written all new arrangements for a 24-piece string/woodwind orchestra based on the original scores of “Bird with Strings”, like “Just Friends”, April in Paris”, etc. (which he had kept for many years). Phil has also written several new arrangements, many of them of his own original compositions, with the same instrumentation.
This project first opened at the 2004 Oslo Jazz Festival, and has since been featured in some of Europe’s greatest venues, like the Konserhuset in Stockholm, Sweden; the Danish Radio Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark; the Tonhalle in Zurich, Switzerland; the Palacio de la Opera in La Coruña, Spain; the Palau de La Música Catalana in Barcelona, Spain and the Mozarteum in Salzburg. This show has also been featured in some of the most prestigeous Jazz Festivals, like San Sebastian’s Donostiako Jazzaldia, The North Sea Jazz Festival, Jazz in Marciac, The Brecon Jazz Festival, etc.