Barre Phillips | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | San Francisco, California, U.S. | October 27, 1934
Genres | Jazz |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Double bass |
Years active | 1960–present |
Website | www.barrephillips.com |
Barre Phillips (born October 27, 1934, in San Francisco, California, United States) [1] is an American jazz bassist. A professional musician since 1960, he moved to New York City in 1962, then to Europe in 1967. [2] Since 1972, he has been based in southern France where, in 2014, he founded the European Improvisation Center.
He studied briefly in 1959 with S. Charles Siani, Assistant Principal Bassist with the San Francisco Symphony. During the 1960s, he recorded with (among others) Eric Dolphy, Jimmy Giuffre, Archie Shepp, Peter Nero, Attila Zoller, Lee Konitz and Marion Brown. [2]
Phillips' 1968 recording of solo bass improvisations, issued as Journal Violone in the US, Unaccompanied Barre in England, and Basse Barre in France on Futura Records, is generally credited as the first solo bass record. [1] A 1971 record with Dave Holland, Music from Two Basses , was probably the first record of improvised double bass duets. [3]
In the 1970s, he was a member of the well-regarded and influential group The Trio, with saxophonist John Surman and drummer Stu Martin. [2] In the 1980s and 1990s, he played regularly with the London Jazz Composers Orchestra, led by fellow bassist Barry Guy. He worked on soundtracks of the motion pictures Merry-Go-Round (1981), Naked Lunch (1991, together with Ornette Coleman) and Alles was baumelt, bringt Glück! (2013). [4]
He has also worked with (among many others) bassists Peter Kowald and Joëlle Léandre, guitarist Derek Bailey, clarinetists Theo Jörgensmann, Vinny Golia, and Aurélien Besnard, saxophonists Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker and Joe Maneri, and pianists Bob James and Paul Bley.
Barre is the father of the rock guitarist, Jay Crawford from the band Bomb; of the bassist Dave Phillips; and of singer Claudia Phillips, who was a one-hit wonder in France in 1987 with "Quel souci La Boétie".
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Sankt Gerold is a live album by pianist Paul Bley recorded at the Propstei Sankt Gerold in April 1996 and released on ECM in October 2000. The trio features saxophonist Evan Parker and bassist Barre Phillips.
Journal Violone II is an album by bassist Barre Phillips recorded in June 1979 and released on ECM the following year. The trio features reed player John Surman and singer Aina Kemanis.
Zurich Concerts is a double live album by Barry Guy and the London Jazz Composers' Orchestra featuring recordings of two large-scale compositions, one by Guy, the other by guest artist Anthony Braxton. The Guy work was recorded on November 11, 1987, at Rote Fabrik in Zürich, while the Braxton work was recorded on March 27, 1988, at the same location. The album was initially released on LP in 1988 by Intakt Records, and was reissued on CD in 1995.