Not a great deal is known about
Jimmy Woods, an explorative altoist who recorded two impressive albums for Contemporary during 1961-1963 and then largely dropped out of the music scene. A passionate improviser,
Woods joined Homer Carter's R&B band in 1951. After a period in the Air Force (1952-1956), he worked in some other R&B groups including
Roy Milton's. He played with
Horace Tapscott in 1960, recorded with
Joe Gordon the following year, and spent a period playing with
Gerald Wilson's big band and
Chico Hamilton. However,
Jimmy Woods rarely made a living out of music and has been little heard from since the mid-'60s. ~ Scott Yanow