In the last year or so, alto saxophonist Phil Woods has played Birdland twice, released two new albums, and been the focus of a tribute concert at the JVC Jazz Festival. For any other musician – particularly one who, like Mr.Woods, just turned 73 – that would seem like a busy year. But by the hyper accelerated standards of Mr. Woods, it almost seems like he’s slowing down.

There was a time when Mr. Woods was practically omnipresent. He seemed to be headlining in every major club and starring in every big festival. Not only was he releasing a half-dozen albums a year; his distinctive alto timbre was identifiable on pop records by Billy Joel and Steely Dan, and even on movie soundtracks.

Mr. Woods is not like most of the other giants of the bebop generation. Unlike the late Art Pepper, sometimes characterized as his West Coast counterpart, Mr. Woods had no appetite for self-destruction. And though he also enjoys playing in a variety of different contexts, he – unlike another early bop alto contemporary, Lee Konitz – has gone the difficult route of keeping a regularly working band together.

The Phil Woods Quintet helped carry the torch of bebop through the lean decades, and it’s burning brighter than ever. The nucleus – Steve Gilmore, bass, and Bill Goodwin, drums – has been together for more than 30 years. Eight years ago, in fact, Mosaic Records released a five-CD box entitled “The Phil Woods Quintet 20th Anniversary Set” (159), consisting of previously unissued live recordings from 1976-92. Despite a relatively stable roster, Mr. Wood’s quintet also introduced several new stars, including the trumpeter Tom Harrell, and trumpeter Brian Lynch and pianist Bill Charlap. The latter two will be performing with the Mr. Woods and the rest of the Quintet at Birdland through tomorrow.

On the late set on opening night, the quintet started with Johnny Carisi’s “Israel,” from the Miles Davis ‘Birth of the Cool” book, then followed with Harry Warren’s “An Affair To Remember.” This was one of many tunes from Mr. Woods’s songbook – along with Noel Coward’s “Mad About the Boy” and the Mario Lanza hit “Be My Love” – that is not often bebopped.

These musicians listen to one another. In the middle of “Affair,” bassist Gilmore quoted “Autumn Nocturne,” and that apparently inspired Mr. Lynch to pick that 1941 Joseph Myrow/Claude Thornhill hit for his featured number. He addressed it in ballad time, except that he double-timed on the bridge. When Mr. Charlap took his solo, he reiterated that pattern, picking up the tempo at the halfway point.

For his own trio feature, Mr. Charlap spontaneously assembled a programmatic medley of three songs of love and loss and hope: “After You, Who?”, “Too Late Now,” and Peggy Lee’s “There’ll Be Another Spring.” Rather than stopping one and beginning the next, the pianist ran all three tunes in and out of each other. Playing mostly single notes, he emphasized the melodies, woven in such a way as to sound entirely new.

Mr. Woods and the Quintet ended with what was, for him, roots music – “Two Bass Hit,” one of Dizzy Gillespie’s early, archetypical variations on “I Got Rhythm.” At one point in between songs, Mr. Woods turned to Mr. Gilmore and Mr. Goodwin and said “You know, I’ve had breakfast more with these guys than with my own wife.” The Quintet left us hungry for more.

Tonight & November 20 at 9 & 11 p.m. (315 W. 44th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, 212-581-3080).