Chris Woods (born 1925, Memphis, Tennessee, died 1985, New York City) was an American jazz alto saxophonist whose career spanned Memphis, St. Louis, and New York. After working locally in Memphis, he joined the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra and later Tommy Dean’s combo, making records for the labels Town and Country, Miracle, and States before releasing his first leader album in 1953 for United Records. In 1962 Woods moved to New York, where he worked alongside Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Sy Oliver, and Ted Curson, and appeared on Terry’s Live! at Buddy’s Place (1976) and Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1979). He recorded Somebody Done Stole My Blues (1976) and Modus Operandi (1978) for Delmark, and played with the Count Basie Orchestra from 1983 until his death in 1985.
