William Woods - Biography

The past few years have been very good fo… Read Full Bio ↴William Woods - Biography

The past few years have been very good for adult contemporary pianist/composer William Woods . His second CD, ‘Cobalt Blue’, was released to critical acclaim and picked up a Smoothie Award along the way. In addition, the first track lifted for radio play, ‘Blue Me Down’, was included by WJZW DJ Al Santos in his 2004 Top 50 Year End Countdown. His third release, the Top 40's ‘Every Part Of Me’, his first on the Whaling City Sound label received rave reviews including JazzTimes, spent four months on the smooth jazz charts and was featured on the Music Choice cable network. Building on his success and momentum, he released his fourth and most compelling CD to date, 'The Hear and Now' on Whaling City Sound in September 2006.

Given that he is the son of professional violinist Lee Kanter, it’s not surprising that Woods, who was born in Englewood, New Jersey, started out on strings. However at the age of nine he discovered a much greater affinity for piano and developed a passion for both improvisation and composition. A tragic side note to his musical development was written when, as a student of New York City composer and musicologist, Ernest Lubin, he arrived one day for class to find that his instructor had been murdered. He was able to move on from this horror and pursued his studies at Juilliard where he first performed some of his original works.

Woods graduated from Princeton and from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He works as a radiation oncologist treating cancer patients and, over the years, has found a satisfying balance between the rigorous schedule of a physician and the process of jazz composition and recording.

His music has been likened to ‘an edgy brand of adult contemporary jazz that exists somewhere between a hip Boney James and a cerebral David Benoit’ but this summation completely misses the point of where William Woods is at. Certainly there is some Benoit in there and at times a little Culbertson too but what Woods brings to the party is smooth jazz for grown ups and as such is far closer to Bob James or the sound of Fourplay.

'The Hear and Now' features Woods on piano and keyboards, Denny Jiosa on Guitar, Jeffrey Scott Wills on saxophone, Chris Kent on electric bass, Alana Rocklin on acoustic bass, Derico Watson on drums and Glen Caruba on percussion. Having touched down on the national charts, the CD made the New Age Sampler Top 20 list for October. The music provides a fresh approach to smooth jazz combining beauty, passion, grace and energy. Best of all, 50% of profits from the CD will go to Habitat for Humanity.

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
William Woods Lyrics

We have lyrics for 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' by these artists:

Aaron Neville The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Acker Bilk his Clarinet and Orchestra The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Alison Moyet The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Anita Dobson You knew when we had it good I wanted to believe…
Anne Geddes The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Bert Jansch The first time ever I saw your face, I thought the…
Brian Kennedy The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Caroline Lavelle The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Céline Dion & Anne Geddes The first time ever I saw your face The first time…

Céline Dion & David Foster The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Celine Dion (All The Way... A Decade Of Song) The first time ever I saw your face The first time…
Céline Dion/Celine Dion The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Christy Moore The First Time ever I saw your face I Thought the…
David Rose & His Orchestra The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Ewan MacColl The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Ewan MacColl Peggy Seeger The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
G. Dale A combination of things makes my day A good day is…
George Michael the first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Glee Cast Rachel: The first time ever I saw your face I though…
Gordon Lightfoot The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Gregorian The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Isaac Hayes I thought the sun rose in your eyes And the moon…
James Blake The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Jane McDonald The first time, ever I saw your face I thought the…
Jeffrey Gaines The first time ever I saw your face I thought…
John Ottman The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Johnny Cash The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Leona Lewis(里歐娜) The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Luke Evans The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Marianne Faithfull The first time ever I saw your face I saw the…
Mary Travers The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Mathilde Santing The first time ever I saw your face I thought…
Matt Cardle The first time ever I saw your face The first time…
Méav The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Paco De María The first time, ever I saw your face I thought the…
Peggy Seeger The First Time ever I saw your face I Thought the…
Shirley Bassey The first time ever, I saw your face I thought the…
Steven Houghton The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
The Flaming Lips The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
The Temptations⤀ The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
UNKLE The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
Various Artists The first time, ever i saw your face I thought the…
Vern Gosdin The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…
席琳迪昂Celine Dion The first time ever I saw your face I thought the…