The Phil Woods Quintet's final recording on November 10, 2014 at the Deer Head inn with Bill Goodwin, Steve Gilmore, Bill Mays and Brian Lynch. If you are a Phil Woods fan (as I am), this album is essential; while the recordings took place not that long before Phil's death, and you can hear the evidence of his declining health, Phil is still Phil … and that means, that even with his health limitations, he is still masterful and this recording is a poignant tribute to his great career and legacy. The amazing trumpet playing of Brian Lynch is an added bonus; he really shines, and together, he and Phil … aw the whole quintet, really … make this album a not-to-be-missed gem!!
It's a bit depressing how many new releases from the "major" classical labels these days consist of recycled old recordings, but give Deutsche Grammophon credit for the thinking that obviously went into this four-CD box entitled The Four Seasons: A Musical Calendar of Favourite Classics. In a way, this is yet another milking of the perennially salable Vivaldi Four Seasons; each of the four discs (Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter) opens with a complete performance of its respective concerto from that set, in the Gil Shaham recording with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.