Woods Has No Trouble Expressing Himself : Jazz: The outspoken saxophonist leads his quintet tonight at the Hyatt Newporter in Newport Beach.

Phil Woods walks his talk. Or, more accurately, he plays his talk. The saxophonist with a reputation for telling it like it is from the bandstand is also known for speaking his mind in interviews.

Woods’ new live album, “Full House,” recorded last September at Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood, is proof positive of his expressive talents on the sax. The Woods quintet works the mainstream with a decidedly modern bent, expressing the rigors and rewards of modern life with expressionistic improvisation and come-together ensemble work. Its leader’s alto attacks pianist Jim McNeely’s “Empty House” with insistent, even frantic statements. On another, slower-paced number, he switches to clarinet for an especially revealing glimpse into the human condition.

But Woods, who leads his quintet tonight at the Hyatt Newporter in Newport Beach, also pulls no punches in conversation on a number of musical and other subjects.

For one, he’s heartened that the seamier side of jazz life is less glamorous to musicians who have come along since Charlie Parker. “Longevity is definitely a goal now. Everybody’s becoming more aware of taking care of not only oneself, but of the planet,” he said in a phone conversation earlier this week from his home in Delaware Water Gap, Penn.

“There’s a greater awareness around than there was in the ‘40s when I was coming up. I mean, we have made some progress since then.”

Then there’s his stand on jazz education. He’s been quoted as saying that it’s a “revolving door” in the United States. “We don’t need 3,000 tenor players a year” coming out of American high schools and colleges.

Woods, whose commitment and lifestyle have served as a model to young musicians of all types, says he’s only trying to look at the situation realistically. “Nobody’s more on the side of jazz education than I am. I continue to work with young people. I’m only outspoken as sort of a devil’s advocate. I just make sure that all sides are aired.”

But too many saxophonists? “No matter what I say, the ones that want to play are going to play regardless. It’s those in between that I worry about, the ones that fall through the cracks. Still, in this day and age, there are so many more severe problems to worry about.”

Woods has a knack for looking at the musical life in a larger perspective. He has suggested that before aspiring jazz musicians play a note, they should face the trials of being on the road, traveling hundreds of miles on a bus to a gig, setting up, then knocking down before traveling all night to somewhere else, all the while trying to keep track of hundreds of charts as well as a crease in the pants they perform in.

“I still believe that,” he said. “But it doesn’t just apply to music. There are a lot of jobs like that. . . . I don’t want to give the impression that musicians have it any harder than anyone else.”

For Woods, hands-on traveling experience came early. “I’ve been touring since I was 15,” said the 60-year old saxophonist, noting that he traveled to South America, Europe and the Middle East with Dizzy Gillespie while still in his 20s. “But before (the Gillespie tour), I’d been on the road with Neal Hefti and the McGuire Sisters, played country fairs and traveled with a polka band.

“Of course, it was a little more exotic with Dizzy. You’d leave Charlie’s tavern and wake up in some opium den in Iran or somewhere in Lebanon. In those days it was exciting. Now it’s a jungle.”

Woods has a reputation for being footloose. He toured Europe with Quincy Jones in 1959 (and on his own any number of years since), traveled to the old Soviet Union with Benny Goodman in 1962, then moved to France in ’68 after a time spent teaching and doing studio work in New York on such films as “The Hustler,” “Twelve Angry Men” and “Blow Up” with Herbie Hancock.

He even lived in Los Angeles for a while in 1972 after his return from France, where he led a short-lived electric group. “In the symphony of life,” he said, “my residence in L.A. was a three-bar rest. . . . It was one of the dumbest moves of my life. I wanted a house with a pool. I’ll never want that again.”

Even though he lives in the relative quiet of Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, Woods says he’s a New York kind of guy. “I live in the country, but I’ve always had access to New York City. There’s a little more energy there. L.A. is too laid back for me. It’s not ever been my favorite part of the world musically. I mean, I have some dear friends out there, but I just don’t care for the quality of life.”

The Woods’ quintet, which outscored even Wynton Marsalis’ combo in some recent Downbeat magazine critics’ and readers’ polls, has undergone some changes in the last few years. Pianist McNeely has taken over for Hal Galper. Acclaimed trumpeter Tom Harrell left to be replaced by trombonist Hal Crook. More recently, trumpeter Brian Lynch, a member of Art Blakey’s last Jazz Messengers band, has replaced Crook.

But the changes haven’t affected the spirit of the band. “We just keep going on and on,” Woods said. “The hardest part (about replacing trombonist Crook with trumpeter Lynch) is that the leader has to learn the harmony again. I used to play the melody, with the trombone (handling harmony) in the band, it’s more logical for the sax to take the lead. Now I’m reduced to the harmony parts--it’s like forget the old parts and learn the new parts.”

“We have a whole new book, though, so it really doesn’t matter. We have a lot of Brian’s stuff and Jim McNeely has been most prolific lately. And I’ve been writing some new stuff.”

No doubt, Woods’ new material, like everything he does, will tell it like it is.

The Phil Woods Quintet plays tonight at 7:30 for the “Jazz Live at the Hyatt” series at the Hyatt Newporter, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach. $8. (714) 729-1234.