Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » William Woods: Cobalt Blue

105

William Woods: Cobalt Blue

William Woods: Cobalt Blue
Pianist and composer William Woods is a radiological oncologist by vocation and talented jazz musician by avocation. Cobalt contains eleven smooth jazz tunes composed by him. The album title has a subtle physician's reference, since it refers to a radioactive substance employed in cancer treatment. Regis Branson, who is associated with Alex Bugnon, Howard Johnson, Najee, and Will Downing, produced the disc. Branson and Woods both contributed to the arrangements. The disc features Woods on piano with Branson adding keyboards, bass, drums, percussion and occasional vocals in the background. Also contributing to the project are soprano saxophonist Vincent Henry, soprano saxophonist Mark Friedman, alto saxophonist Robert DeBellis, and drummer Bernard Davis.



The resulting music is an edgy brand of adult contemporary jazz that exists somewhere between a hip Boney James and cerebral David Benoit. The disc starts with the composition "Out of My Hands," betraying a predisposition on the composer's part for rhythmic melody. This trend permeates the whole of this release, a smart and solid approach that makes the music vitally enjoyable and accessible. This recording will appeal to the staunchest contemporary jazz buffs and traditional acoustic heads alike.



Visit William Woods on the web.

Track Listing

1. Out of My Hands; 2. Rhythm; 3. Princess Dreams; 4. All Night Long; 5. Blue Me Down; 6. Absolute Zero; 7. Drama Queen; 8. No Money Down; 9. Reunion Song; 10. Small Wonder; 11. Tread Lightly.

Personnel

William Woods: Piano; Regis Branson: Keyboards, Bass; Vincent Henry, Mark Friedman: soprano saxophone; Robert DeBellis: alto saxophone; Bernard Davis: Drums.

Album information

Title: Cobalt Blue | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Unknown label

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.