Saxophonist Educator and Composer, Dr. Woody Witt, is a Professor of Music at Houston Community College and is the Instructor of Saxophone at the University of Houston Moores School of Music.
He got his Masters degree in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas, where he taught saxophone and jazz methods.
He also received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in performance from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston in 2000.
As a jazz artist, Woody has had the opportunity to perform and record with Randy Brecker, Billy Hart, David Kikoski, and Tim Hagans among countless others.
In October 2014, Woody was the grand-prize winner of the Taichung International Jazz Saxophone Competition in Taichung, Taiwan.
Witt has 13 CDs to his credit as a leader or co-leader and has done over 50 recordings as a sideman.
In Fall 2023, Witt released his first book/video project of standards based jazz etudes, Stream of Consciousness, inspired by techniques he uses for himself and his students.
Woody has been a performing artist for Eastman Saxophones since 2018, and was integral in the design and testing of the Eastman Saxophones Rue St George and the new 52nd Street 852 model with Bob Mintzer and Ryan Richmond.
In this episode, we talked about:
- How Woody got into music
- Improvisation tip
- Importance of melody audience connection
- Effects of social media on music
- The process of writing a dissertation Sonny Stitt
Here’s the Video:
Links:
- Website: https://woodywitt.com/
- Stream of Consciousness Etudes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL59s-xEI_nYgQ6NOiSFZzXKktTjxQNOiO
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/woody.witt/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/woody.witt/
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/woody-witt
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@woodywitt
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Another really solid interview — Mr. Witt is someone new to me. He repeats a theme of previous guests, i.e., being able to make a connection with the audience, which is often missing today. The masters knew how to do it, mostly with great melodies, letting it be about the music and not the ego.
Thanks Laura – Woody is a great player and teacher – I am glad you got a lot out of this.