Just the way you are?

[honcho]

Howdy

Does anyone have a transcribed copy of Phil Woods' solo on Billy Joel's Just the Way You Are? If so, I would be very appreciative if someone can email it to me. tsuarez7@bellsouth.net
Thanks for any help!

[MarkD]

John Laughter, author of Rock and Roll Saxophone, might be able to help you out. He was kind enough to forward a copy to me some months ago. You can contact him via the following web site:

http://members.aol.com/jsaxl/music1/index.htm

[colibri]

That's Phil Woods in that recording??

[Gandalfe]

Yeah, and he'll remind you of it all the time. :D

[Morry]

MarkD...do you still have a copy?

[MarkD]

Morry - check your e-mail.

[Dr_sax]

I could also need a copy if that´s not a ploblem. Thanks alot anyway. :wink:

[super20dan]

phil has every right to be proud of that solo-its one of the best alto solos in pop music of all time

[gary]

Usually don't impulse buy but I was in a record store ca 1978 and heard that sax solo; they were playing the record. Bought the Stranger album just to keep the solo. Just beautiful! Great album, too.

I had that solo on a big band chart and decided to go to the source. It took me about a nano-second to figure out how stiff my phrasing was when I tried playing along with Phil.

[super20dan]

yes i have played that same chart .the solo is actually written out note for note as played by phil.pretty cool. what gets me is how does phil do that run at the end where he goes up to hi f# like its nothing.does his old mk6 have high f#?

[Razzy]

I've listened to that song many a time and I don't hear any high F# in the Woods solo... highest note I heard was E toward the end of his chorus but I could be mistaken.

Anyway, Woods studied for four years at Juilliard... and that was about 55 years ago... so you figure he's got some chops eh 8) I know some cats who can play up to F#4 like it's nothing, like it's just extending the range of the horn. Simply beautiful.

[top_gun25]

1 word

DANG!

[super20dan]

the run is at the very end when they are fading out the song so you may not have ever heard it . i have a written transcription of the solo and its there too. lets face it phil is one of the best alto players of all time. if you have ever seen him live you know what i mean. i didnt get a chance to talk to him when i saw him play in a club here once. i wanted to ask him if he improvised that solo or if it was written out for him. its truly a masterful solo.

[colibri]

I prefer Brecker's solo in Diana Krall's version of "Just the Way You Are".

[Razzy]

Ok, that makes sense. And yes, I know what you mean! Wow. He's just amazing. Such a BIG sound in the palm keys and everything. Often I've mistaken his alto sound for a tenor, it's so lush and rich. Phil is my, I guess you'd call it, my grandteacher! And I'm damn proud of it 8)

[kevvieg]

That solo was the reason I began saxophone. I had never paid any real attention to saxophone up to that point but that huge alto sound spoke tome and I knew that was the instrument I was going to play.

I am an enormous fan of Michael Brecker and he blew a great solo on Diana Krall's version, but comparing Phil Woods and Brecker is like comparing Da Vinci and Monet. There is no better. I do believe that Phil's solo is the definitive.

I am a major jazz snob, but I do have a lot of other non-jazz artists whom I hold in high regard. Among those are Sting, Steely Dan, and Billy Joel among many others. It's a shame that this song became such a cliche because it really was written with sincerity in mind.

Also check out Freddie Hubbard on "Zanzibar" from 52 St.

[1saxman]

Players of Phil's and Michael's caliber do not write out solos for pop songs. They show up at the studio, listen to what's already recorded, mess around with it some, then do a take. Most of the time, they never see the singer or anyone else - just show up and blow. Pete Christlieb is another studio 'hit man' with some outstanding credentials. Of course, there are many other ways this particular song could have come together, like if Phil had been brought in early on by Joel to give ideas and network, but usually it's the other way. I also love this solo and Phil's playing in general, and have played it many times in bands since it came out. It's always a challenge, no matter how well you know it, to get every little inflection. The whole song is great; band, singer, lyrics and all. If you play alto, you should learn it, because it will be played at weddings forever. So that was Michael on the Krall version? That's a shocker.

[Durand]

I thought Billy Joel's saxophonist at that time was Richie Cannata :shock: :?:

[moffcom]

Players of Phil's and Michael's caliber do not write out solos for pop songs. They show up at the studio, listen to what's already recorded, mess around with it some, then do a take. Most of the time, they never see the singer or anyone else - just show up and blow. Pete Christlieb is another studio 'hit man' with some outstanding credentials. Of course, there are many other ways this particular song could have come together, like if Phil had been brought in early on by Joel to give ideas and network, but usually it's the other way. I also love this solo and Phil's playing in general, and have played it many times in bands since it came out. It's always a challenge, no matter how well you know it, to get every little inflection. The whole song is great; band, singer, lyrics and all. If you play alto, you should learn it, because it will be played at weddings forever. So that was Michael on the Krall version? That's a shocker. I had a professor in college who was well informed of session folklore and told us that Phil's solo was recorded in sections. We were shocked, and could not understand why it would be necessary as Phil could nail it easily. He explained that it had to do with making the solo perfectly placed in every phrase, and it was a compilation of various takes. Years later at a sax clinic in southern calif. Pete Christlieb was asked about this kind of recording, and he said that Steely Dan once tried to just "sample" different phrases and tones from him. He said he wasnt going for it and walked out. This was of course after the Aja album. take care,

[JamieLB]

I would like to get a transcribed copy as well. If anyone could tell me how to get one...it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[colibri]

You can do it yourself. It's relatively easy.

[JfW]

If possible, I would appriciate a transcription of this as well.

Thanks

;)

[Giles]

I thought Billy Joel's saxophonist at that time was Richie Cannata :shock: :?:

He was. Played everything else except for the one solo in question. He stayed up until The Nylon Curtain (no sax on that album). Mark Rivera came i after that and still tours with him as far as I know. If I remember correctly, Canata returned on Joel's last studio rock album for a song or two. Cannata was touring with Mike Love's sorry-excuse-for-the-Beach Boys last I heard.

[tubbycub]

I love you just the way you are.......solo.....

Aaaahh, that was the whole reason why I pick up the sax in the first place. I always wondered if Phil Woods ever recorded an extended version of this wonderful song. I mean, to continue soloing after the fade out on the normal version?

[amg]

This solo has actually been published, in a folio of Phil Woods transcriptions by Trent Kynaston. Publisher was Columbia Pictures Publications in their "Studio P/R Jazz Texts" series, dated 1981, no ISBN. The book may have been reprinted since or the solos may have been scanned and pdf'd, I haven't tried searching.

I'd recommend getting hold of the book, if it's still possible. Some other nice things there.

[blueboy]

Here it is!

http://www.jazzitalia.net/lezioni/trascrizioni/tr_justthewayyouare.asp

[Durand]

I can't find the last 4 bars in the audio clip

[tubbycub]

I did a full transcription on Noteworthy composer. Let me know if any of you guys want it.

[Durand]

I am interested in a copy, if you can.
Please e-mail it to:
lfduran@fhia.org.hn

[Balladeer]

I know I'm gonna get flack for this...however... In the time spent writing the request for the transcription and checking for responses, you could have learned the solo by ear, eliminating the need for the transcription. If this is beyond your level of ability, maybe that is exactly why you should have done it that way.

[ReedSplitterRev]

Not to ask too much, but, I'd love a copy in Eb and Bb if possible. We appreciate your efforts!
reedsplitterrev@hotmail.com
Trevor

[blueboy]

Balladeer I agree with you and therefore reserve my flack.

Although I have played it using the transcription from the above link.

[FlyinBrian]

While I enjoy the solo in JTWYA, I am partial to Wood's solo in "The Year of the Cat" by Al Stewart. The way he falls from the heights of the guitar buildup just before IS transforming.

[Giles]

Year of the Cat is Phil Kenzie, not Phil Woods.

[FlyinBrian]

I know Phil Kenzie did the Rocky Horror Picture Show, which is some GREAT playing, but I thought Woods did YOTC. I'll have to check that.

[FlyinBrian]

I stand corrected...Kenzie now officially tops my "Favorite Alto Player" list.

[prodigal]

There's a book of Woods transcriptions by Kynaston that includes it, among many other great solos....

[kevvieg]

Kynaston did three books for Studio PR in the early eighties; Woods, Getz, and Brecker. I have the Brecker book and photocopies of some of the Getz and Woods solos, but I'd love to find replacement copies. (I was 17 and din't take care of stuff as well in those days)

Perhaps an urban legend, but I had heard that the books got yanked because proper copyright protocol had not been followed. BTW Phil's solo on "Cheek to Cheek" from "Live at the Showboat" should be required learning for any alto player, as well as "Airegin" from "Musique du Bois"

[gary]

tubbycub, could you email me please? Thanks. Gary
garysapp@hotmail.com

[tubbycub]

sent!

[gary]

...and recieved. Thank you sir!

[HC]

Can anyone foward that to me? My email is howard0528@gmail.com
It has been a while since I played a solo on alto.

Thanks,
Howard

[HC]

Can anyone foward that to me? My email is howard0528@gmail.com
It has been a while since I played a solo on alto.

Thanks,
Howard

[IPlayTenor]

Would appreciate a copy in Bflat.

brad@netcommander.com

Thanks!