Joseph Edward Filippelli (March 26, 1915 – August 17, 2001), known professionally as Flip Phillips, was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

tenor saxophone and clarinet player. He is best remembered for his work with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts from 1946 to 1957. Phillips recorded an album for Verve when he was in his 80s. He performed in a variety of genres, including

mainstream jazz Mainstream jazz is a term coined in the 1950s by music journalist Stanley Dance, who considered anything within the popular jazz of the Swing Era "mainstream",McRae, Barry. 2005. "Sound Investment: Mainstream." ''Jazz Journal International'', A ...

, swing, and

jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...

Career

He was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, United States. During the 1930s, Phillips played clarinet in a restaurant in Brooklyn. After that he was a member of bands led by Frankie Newton,

Red Norvo Red Norvo (born Kenneth Norville; March 31, 1908 – April 6, 1999) was an American musician, one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone as jazz instruments. His recor ...

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

, and Wingy Manone. He was a regular soloist for the

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

band in the middle 1940s and for the next ten years performed with Jazz at the Philharmonic. He made multiple appearances on recordings by

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

during this period. He retired to Florida, but after fifteen years he returned to music, recording again and performing into his 80s. He recorded extensively for

Clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical staff. Placing a clef on a staff assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines or four spaces, whic ...

in the 1940s and 1950s, including a 1949 album of small-group tracks under his leadership with Buddy Morrow, Tommy Turk,

Kai Winding Kai Chresten Winding ( ; May 18, 1922 – May 6, 1983) was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of " More", the theme from the movie ''Mondo Ca ...

Sonny Criss William "Sonny" Criss (23 October 1927 – 19 November 1977) was an American jazz musician. An Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of prominence during the bebop era of jazz, he was one of many players influenced by Charlie Parker. Biography ...

, Ray Brown, and Shelly Manne. He accompanied

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

on her 1952 album ''Billie Holiday Sings''. He died in August 2001, in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

, at the age of 86.

Discography

As leader

* ''Flip Phillips Collates'' (

, 1952) * ''Flip Phillips Collates Vol. 2'' (Clef, 1953) * ''Flip Phillips Quartet'' ( Mercury, 1953) * ''Jumping Moods'' (Clef, 1954) * ''Rock with Flip'' (Clef, 1954) * '' The Flip Phillips Buddy Rich Trio'' (Clef, 1954) * ''Flip Phillips Quintet'' (Clef, 1955) * ''The Battle of the Saxes'' (American Recording Society, 1956) * ''Flip'' (Clef, 1956) * ''Flip Wails'' (Clef, 1956) * ''Swingin' with Flip Phillips and His Orchestra'' (1956) * ''Flip in Florida'' (Onyx, 1963) * ''Your Place or Mine?'' (Jump, 1963) * ''Flip Phillips Revisited'' (1965) * ''Phillips's Head'' (Choice, 1975) * ''John & Joe'' (

Chiaroscuro In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...

, 1977) * ''Live at the Beowulf'' (1978) * ''Flipenstein'' ( Progressive, 1981) * ''The Claw: Live at the Floating Jazz Festival'' (Chiaroscuro, 1986) * ''A Sound Investment'' with Scott Hamilton (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the ...

, 1987) * ''A Real Swinger'' (Concord Jazz, 1988) * ''Try a Little Tenderness'' (Chiaroscuro, 1992) * ''Live at the 1993 Floating Jazz Festival'' (Chiaroscuro, 1993) * ''Spanish Eyes'' ( Candid, 1997) * ''John & Joe Revisited'' (Chiaroscuro, 1999) * ''Swing Is the Thing!'' ( Verve, 2000) * ''Celebrates His 80th Birthday at the March of Jazz 1995'' ( Arbors, 2003) * ''Live at the Beowulf: Arbors Historical Series, Vol. 5'' (Arbors, 2004)

As sideman

With

Johnny Hodges Johnny Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophone, alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on sop ...

* ''

In a Tender Mood ''In a Tender Mood'' is an album recorded by American jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges featuring performances recorded in 1951 and 1952 and released on the Norgran label.

'' (Norgran, 1952 955 With

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...

and Buddy Rich * '' The Drum Battle'' (Verve, 1952 960 With

* ''

Big Band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

'' (

, 1954)

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Flip 1915 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American saxophonists American jazz clarinetists American jazz tenor saxophonists American male saxophonists Bebop saxophonists Jump blues musicians Mainstream jazz saxophonists Swing saxophonists East Coast blues musicians Candid Records artists Chiaroscuro Records artists Gemini Records artists Verve Records artists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Mercury Records artists Concord Records artists Arbors Records artists