Phil Woods discusses his decision not to teach

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Phil Woods on Benny Carter

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Phil Woods discusses his lengthy career

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Q: “[Benny Carter] was a musical influence on you, wasn’t he? Before you ever met him you idolized him…”

A: “Before I heard Byrd, the first alto player I really heard was Johnny Hodges in person. That really turned me on with Duke's Band. I was about fourteen to fifteen. I guess I'd had a record of Charlie Parker, but I was playing the transcribed Benny Carter solos. My teacher gave me these as part of my study, so I was kind of aware of his music before I was aware of jazz, in a sense. You know, my teacher would play the piano part and I would try to noodle along playing Mr. Carter's solo, so yeah, the big three, Hodges, Carter and Byrd.”