Barre Phillips is renowned as one of the most important and prolific jazz and improvisation bass players of all time. Born in 1934, Phillips moved to New York in 1962 and was soon performing with many of the leading jazz artists of the time including Eric Dolphy, Jimmy Giuffre, Archie Shepp, Attila Zoller, Lee Konitz, Bobby Hutcherson and Marion Brown.
Phillips' 1968 recording of solo bass improvisations is generally credited as the first solo bass record. A 1971 record with Dave Holland, Music from Two Basses, was probably the first record of bass duets.
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. In 1991 he worked with Ornette Coleman on the soundtrack of the motion picture Naked Lunch.
As a free improviser he has worked with (among many others) bassists Peter Kowald and Joëlle Léandre, guitarists Derek Bailey and Keiji Haino, saxophonists Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker and Joe Maneri, and pianist Paul Bley.
In Wellington Barre Phillips will perform solo bass and in collaboration with local luminaries such as Anthony Donaldson, Gerard Crewdson, Lucien Johnson, Tom Callwood and Jeff Henderson.
Barre Phillips is presented in Wellington by the iiii Festival of New Jazz and Adventurous music which runs from 6 – 13 Nov in Wellington.
for further information contact iiii Music iiiimusiclist@gmail.com
