Leading his quintet, a working band with a wealth of accumulated knowledge, he kept a loosely efficient air: business casual, with equal emphasis on both words. There was wit and aplomb in his playing, and even an occasional flash of risk, as he willed himself away from comfort and clich.
Mr. Woods, 77, has decidedly earned the stature of an elder statesman, along with some more tangible distinctions. (He wore a baseball cap with the logo of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters program, which inducted him in 2007.) Bebop was the root of his style almost from the start, and over the years he has absorbed its codes into a personal language, with varying degrees of inflection and tone.
He has also developed an uncommonly deep connection with his band, especially at its core: the bassist Steve Gilmore and the drummer Bill Goodwin have been with him for more than 35 years. His younger front-line partner, the trumpeter Brian Lynch, has been aboard since 1992. Only the pianist Bill Mays qualifies as a newcomer, having recently filled a chair that Bill Charlap held for more than a decade.
Thursday’s first set was book-ended by faintly boppish themes: “Springsville,” a John Carisi tune best known for its appearance on a Miles Davis-Gil Evans album, and “Bohemia After Dark,” among the most durable of songs by the bassist Oscar Pettiford. In both cases Mr. Woods and Mr. Lynch played a neatly harmonized line with precision, while the rhythm section cruised capably behind them. When it was time for solos, Mr. Woods sounded fluent and unhurried, leaving all traces of the frenetic to Mr. Lynch.
The Phil Woods Quintet continues through Sunday at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th Street and Broadway
