Woody Witt

Dr. Woody Witt is a Professor of Music at Houston Community College and is the Instructor of Saxophone at the University of Houston Moores School of Music. Woody holds a Masters degree in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas, where he taught saxophone and jazz methods.  Witt received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in performance from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston in 2000.  As a jazz artist, Woody has had the opportunity to perform and record with some of the best practitioners of the art form including Randy Brecker, Billy Hart, David Kikoski, and Tim Hagans among countless others. 

Woody continues to be an active performer, composer and educator based in Houston, TX.  In October 2014, Woody was the grand-prize winner of the Taichung International Jazz Saxophone Competition in Taichung, Taiwan.  He returned in March 2015 for a series of performances, masterclasses and to do consulting work with saxophone manufacturers in the region.  Witt has 13 CDs to his credit as a leader or coleader and has done over 50 recordings as a sideman.  Most of his CDs feature original music and have received airplay around the US and abroad.  His 8th recording, “Pots and Kettles,” made the CMJ (#3) and Jazzweek charts.  Woody has been a performing artist for Eastman Saxophones since 2018.  In Fall 2023, Witt is releasing his first book/video project of standards based jazz etudes, Stream of Consciousness.  Woody also had the distinction of having one of these etudes chosen for Texas All State Jazz, and at the same time, was asked to choose the Texas All State band music for saxophone.

Woody has established himself as a notable musician in the area and has performed with the Houston Symphony since 1996, backing artists including Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers and Tony Bennett. His musical journey has offered him stints with touring Broadway shows. He has premiered new works that break down barriers between the musical genres of classical and jazz. Woody was the manager/artistic director and eventual owner of one of the city’s only jazz clubs, Cézanne, for about 20 years. In addition to maintaining a full performing schedule, his career has led him to adjudicate many jazz festivals throughout the US, as well as numerous appearances as a guest artist and clinician around the world.

https://woodywitt.com