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Barre Phillips

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Barre Phillips
Phillips in 2008
Phillips in 2008
Background information
Born(1934-10-27)October 27, 1934
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedDecember 28, 2024(2024-12-28) (aged 90)
Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S.
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
InstrumentDouble bass
Years active1960–2024
Websitebarrephillips.com

Barre Phillips (October 27, 1934 – December 28, 2024) was an American jazz bassist. A professional musician since 1960, he moved to New York City in 1962, then to Europe in 1967.[1] From 1972 he was based in southern France, where in 2014 he founded the European Improvisation Center.

Life and career

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Phillips was born in San Francisco, California on October 27, 1934.[2] 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.[1]

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.[2] 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.[1] 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 had also worked with 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 was 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".

Phillips died on December 28, 2024, at the age of 90.[5]

Discography

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As leader

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  • Basse Barre (Futura, 1969)
  • Alors (Futura, 1970)
  • Music from Two Basses (ECM, 1971)
  • For All It Is (JAPO, 1973) (recorded in 1971)
  • Mountainscapes (ECM, 1976)
  • Three Day Moon (ECM, 1978)
  • Die Jungen: Random Generators (FMP, 1979)
  • Journal Violone II (ECM, 1979)
  • Music by... (ECM, 1980)
  • Call Me When You Get There, (ECM, 1984)
  • Camouflage (Victo, 1989)
  • Naxos (CELP, 1990)
  • Aquarian Rain (ECM, 1991)
  • Etchings in the Air (PSF, 1996)
  • No Pieces (Emouvance, 1996)
  • Uzu (PSF, 1997)
  • Jazzd'aià, (Bleu Regard, 1998)
  • Play 'em as They Fall (Eyewill, 1999)
  • Trignition (Nine Winds, 1999)
  • Journal Violone 9 (Emouvance, 2001)
  • October Base Trilouge (3D, 2001)
  • After You've Gone (Victo, 2004)
  • Angles of Repose (ECM, 2004)
  • LDP (PSI, 2005)
  • The Iron Stone (ECM, 2006)
  • L' Improviste (CD Baby, 2008)
  • While You Were Out (CD Baby/Kadima Collective, 2009)
  • Everybody Else But Me (Foghorn, 2011)[6]
  • End to End (ECM, 2018)
  • Face à Face (ECM, 2022)

As sideman

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Chadbourne, Eugene. "Barre Phillips: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  2. ^ a b Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 320. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  3. ^ Henkin, Andrey (2004-05-12). "Barre Phillips". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  4. ^ "EUPHORIUM Films. Alles was baumelt, bringt Glück!". Euphorium.de. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  5. ^ Parker, Evan (29 December 2024). "RIP Barre Phillips (1934–2024)". UK Jazz News. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  6. ^ "Barre Phillips | Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
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