PHIL WOODS (saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, bandleader) was born November 2, 1931 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Woods, a gifted alto saxophonist in the bebop vein, studied with Lennie Tristano and after studying at the Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard drew attention after tours with the Birdland All Star Tour of 1956 and Dizzy Gillespie’s State Department Tour of the Middle East. The multiple Grammy winner has worked with Quincy Jones, Thelonius Monk and Tom Harrell as well as leading his own groups including a quintet with Bill Goodwin and Steve Gilmore and an avant-garde group he formed in France “The European Rhythm Machine” . Woods gained crossover fame for his solo on Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are”. He is a founding member of the Delaware Gap Celebration of the Arts.