Phil Woods and 14 year old Grace Kelly at Pittsfield Jazz Festival Oct 2006. Phil gave Grace his iconic hat after her impressive solo. For more info about grace go to www.gracekellymusic.com
Gotta say, this brought tears to my eyes seeing and hearing this young girl standing beside Phil Woods and just simply... cooking! And playing her young heart out. And with such joy. And deepest compliments to Phil Woods for what was so obviously his heartfelt and most generous admiration and regard for this young and talented musician beside him. A most beautiful moment captured and one for which I'll remain ever thankful.
I invited grace to sit in with my band on Thursday night in Boston (May 3rd) and she really knocked us out! She has her own sound and style and is a fully realised Jazz artist (saxophonist and singer) at 14! What a joy!
I got to meat Phil in 2007, What a great man and great saxophonist. Even in 2007, he talked about what he still needed to work on as a player, the greats never give up!
Man could you imagine hanging with the big cats and 14 years old?!?! It's crazy to think someone that young can understand and excel at jazz as well as have killer chops.
Oh, this is wonderful! I once dragged my young niece to a jazz performance and she got a kick out of everyone in the audience showing their approval with lots of "yeahs!" Well, I say "yeah" to this young saxophonist! Groove on, Grace!
Unbelievable. A Heavyweight at Fourteen! To play with such maturity at such a young age points to an exiting future for Grace and jazz fans around the world.
...that's the way, man...support your followers and give everybody some respect - especially to the generations coming after you. There's is no other way. Let's change the world. Thanx, uncle Phil...
The amazing 16 jazz prodigy Grace Kelly, who also plays tenor and soprano sax as well as composing, arranging, leading her own group and she's a fantastic jazz singer. We have seen the future of jazz and the name is Grace!! They say she was already advanced at age 10!
It's fantasstic to see a youngster like Miss Kelly play so well. Nice tone and she makes the changes with good phrasing. What a thrill it must have been for her to play with Phil Woods. With young players like this, the future of jazz is in good hands.
Amen. You know, there is something to say about discipline here. At age 14 I was still playing video games everyday of my life, and now I'm working as hard as possible to even reach this level at 23. She's 14, give her constructive criticism, not tear her apart.
Oh my gosh...sometimes I see naturals like that and I wonder if they were just born with it...bravo times ten!! Man...if I had that kind of talent I wouldn't even need to go to school...Best of luck to you Grace!
who ever said this is not good playing jut doesnt know jazz. she has a lot of the concepts down. the rest will come . and she already doing what most jazz artist never do and that is get sounding round of applause
That's possible true. On the other hand she may just keep improving beyond anything we can expect or comprehend. I hope she becomes the greatest player ever. Watching a genius perform at the absolute limit of human potential is just breathtaking. Its what makes life interesting for us mortals.
I saw her earlier this year in a jazz club in Toronto but was only able to stay for the first 1/2 of the performance, but bought her CD "Mood Changes" and I absolutely love it! She is a fantastic player with a bunch of albums, all original songs as far as I know. and she is studying at Berkley a year ahead of most other students!
Wow! I was expecting her to be just so-so, but just hyped up due to her age. She's actually incredibly talented...especially at her age. I had to pull the clip back at around 3:38 just to re-listen to her creative lines on these changes. Very cool! Keep it up Grace!
I saw her in Concert a couple of weeks ago the Regatta Bar in Cambridge Mass. and she was Fucking Awesome! She has Improved considerably and is also a GREAT Jazz Singer! I would say that she is the best Jazz Musician under 20 years old right now-hands down! :)
shes terrific ,, no doubt about it , i still have a problem playing that tune at a fast tempo as ive been trying since i heard zoot play it in 1956 ,, she plays a very melodic jazz ,, i like it , bobby g
darling child...splendid demeanor...and she GETS it. i'd like to know her story...how did the planets line up and put that alto in her hands? BIRD LIVES!
She's just great . I was listening the CD her Father Bob gave me , and im proud of her , specially when she sings ( Samba de Verao )=( So Nice ). And i wish to see her , playing in my Country ( Brazil ) You're always welcome
Beautiful, Grace! So enjoyed hearing you at the Women In Jazz concert at San Diego Jacobs Center! It was an awesome show and you were incredible! Loved your beautiful voice and original song, also.
Grace Kelly might be the next person in the Brubeck Institute Quintet and she will be because man she is good. I tryed out for the Brubeck Institute and was not accepted but you know there are alot of jazz players and only five can be the best but i still play and you will see me on RU-vid next week. Starting off with jazz and then classical. Good Job Grace and hope you do well in the Summer Jazz Colony again okay. Take Care and keep playing actually never stop playing just keep going.
Look at how much fun they're having. So they're doing what Bird did? That's why he lives. The progress is they ain't on H. Why are we still listening to J.S. Bach? 'Cause his improvizations he wrote down, like today jazz musicians still quote Bird. keats Ode to Joy; similar feeling. far out, Phil, and thanks, Jazzpro.
Priceless how he is shouting supportively during the beginning of her solo, in the middle he becomes a bit silent as it dawnes on him that this 14 year old girl litterally blows him out of the water in front of his eyes, at the end of the solo he humbly reigns over his crown. What a great man he is!
this is a pure example of God given talent and Charlie Parker being reincarnated into a 14 old Korean girl. Phil Woods must be absolutely amazed at what this girl can do. The sound, the ideas, the sense of time, its truly amazing. she was born about 40 years too late!
@wrf1973 Also saw "Raga Bop Trio" at the Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood. This is Steve Smith, Prassana & George Brooks. Steve Smith used to play for a huge rock band named Journey & is well known among drummers as one of the best ever in any style. The band was absolutely smokin' East-meets-West Jazz-Rock-Funk fusion at its best, very organic & without the generic sterility of a lot of fusion. Only blocks away from GIT & Musicians Institute & the club was empty, maybe 25 people there!
In StoneSour22's defense... he/she's not referring to Grace Kelly. He/she's referring to the player that onowen99 recommended. And with that, I will give the thumbs up to StoneSour22
Thanks for the message but i am not a sax player i play flute and wanted to be the first Jazz Flute player to be in the Brubeck Institute but was not able to be a part of it.
@Selmerpilot say what you want about grace kelly but in my opinion if phill woods and lee konitz (who are a jazz gods might i add) saw the potential in her (at least enough to give her lessons) then obviously she might have a little more talent then any of us critics would like to say we have
Give her 3-4 years...she'll listen to more jazz and learn more. Then she'll blow everyone away allover again. She IS only 14. I could barely stay inside the changes and do an improv that sounded semi-coherant at that point.
Leon i just kidding i did make it to brubeck Institute but i rejected them because jazz is not my only passion i am all around player so decided to take the full-ride scholarship at the Conservatory at UOP in Stockton to do double major in performance and music education. This way i able to play everything which is what i do. I know i shouldn't have said i did not make it but i was frustated my decision and now i can say i was going to be a part of it. Sorry for this again and check my vid soon.
@Selmerpilot Different people have different gifts & it's not all about who has the most technique. Astrud Gilberto was never even a singer but Stan Getz saw a quality he liked & got her to sing on a couple of tracks & those tracks sung by a non-singer ended up being loved by millions & still became jazz classics. She went on to have her own career & made some excellent albums as result. Enough personality (Hendrix) always trumps technique even if Jazz guys with technique can't stand it.
Imagine this girl sitting in with charlie parker in the 40s! He would have adopted her as his own kid. How you could play an instrument for only 4 years and play like this is amazing talent. Phil must have been totally amazed. Jazz continues on.
Look, JAZZ is mostly identified with the US which is a nation -- and a great one too -- that has just about every ethnic group from planet earth living there. So it does not matter what race the saxophonist comes from cos it's the music (and the playing) that counts! sd goh (malaysia)
@wrf1973 Not true. There is no real appreciation for quality music in the U.S.A. anymore & if there is they sure don't show it by showing up at clubs for performances. I recently saw Kevin Eubanks play his ass off at a well-known small club in L.A. with Marvin 'Smitty' Smith on drums. Now here's a great guitarist who was on TV every night for 18 years! And he has one of the greatest drummers in the world with him & the club was empty! There were maybe 30 people there & this, in Los Angeles !!
StoneSour22 whats there NOT to like? 1st Phil Woods is obviously blown away by her and believe me he should have an Idea if shes good or not, but more over to play like that usually takes YEARS of jamming and playing in smokey jazz joints to get the feel and timing and phrasing she's 14 years old and is playing better and more acomplished than players far, far older Dude.....YEAH I like THAT. If you don't dig it then you are only showing your ignorance...
@Selmerpilot That's because as an artistic endeavor Jazz is a dead scene that's been done every which way with 100s of classic albums for 50 years. Who wants to hear another guy try to play like Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter or John Klemmer? In Europe & Japan it's treated with reverence because they know what it takes to create real art whereas in the U.S. no one cares. Fusion is big in Eastern Europe. Legends like Larry Coryell or Oregon play to 1000s of people a night there.
@jazzkeys44 Seamus Blake, Jaleel Shaw, Miguel Zenon, Patrick Cornelius, John Spelic, Sam Sadigursky to name a small few. There are many staggering young saxophonists in NYC who would wipe the floor with Ms Kelly.
well what do you mean not good enough? the other girl saxophone player in that band is only as good as she is wouldn't you think? i mean how many alto sax players ages 14 - 18 do you think there are that can play at that calibre?
