[Phil Wood] was a great artist, and he knew things. He could be mildly conversant in several languages.
Jon GordonYou hear about the struggles with substances and all that, but [Phil Wood] was a really a great guy. This was a great man.
Jon GordonEveryone wants to do what the great ones do; but very few are willing to do what they did to become great
Jon GordonFamilies that I lived with a little bit in junior high and quite a bit in high school and college. Just to have a safe, sane space with food and things like that. That's what I needed. And people were really kind and really generous. So I think the world kind of opened up my first years of performing arts, studying classical saxophone with Caesar DiMauro.
Jon GordonOne time, I think it was my third lesson third or fourth lesson. Kim Parker and he picked me up at the bus station. And she just said, "Phil [Wood] has been up all night. He's heartbroken. Bud Johnson died last night." And Bud Johnson, like Zoot [Sims] and Al [Cohn] had been mentors to him.
Jon Gordon