Billy Phipps (25 December 1931 – 3 December 2011) was an American jazz

baritone saxophonist The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contraba ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

who contributed to the development of a wide range of jazz styles including hard bop, soul jazz, Latin jazz, and primitive.

Career

Phipps was born on December 25, 1931, in Newark, New Jersey, United States into a jazz family. Billy's cousin, Eugene Phipps, Sr. traveled with Billie Holiday, Joe Guy, Max Roach and Ike Quebec on a national tour. Cousin Ernie Phipps led the big band The Monarchs of Rhythm with Eugene Phipps, Sr. at the Savoy Ballroom along with The Sultans of Swing, Poncho Diggs, and other big bands. During the 1950s Eugene Phipps co-led the house band at Newark's legendary Washington Bar, which featured performers such as

Babs Gonzales Babs Gonzales (October 27, 1919 – January 23, 1980), born Lee Brown, was an American bebop vocalist, poet, and self-published author. His books portrayed the jazz world that many black musicians struggled in, portraying disk jockeys, club owner ...

, Lew-Rew Jordan, and Ike Quebec. In the 1950s Billy Phipps along with brother Nat Phipps formed a band whose members included Wayne Shorter, Grachan Moncur, Chris White, Charlie Mason, Harold Phipps and Robert Thomas. Phipps began his jazz career playing bebop on

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

and baritone saxophone. As a teenager, Phipps was a regular in Newark and New York bands, once opening for Billie Holiday. In 1960 the Phipps band broke up to form the Mega Tones. Billy Phipps left the Mega Tones to tour with Buddy Johnson,

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

and his Big Band, The

Ray Charles Band Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, and "Brother"

Jack McDuff Eugene McDuff (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era ...

. Encouraged by Wayne Shorter who introduced Phipps to John Coltrane, Phipps began shifting to hard bop in his style. Despite a significant jazz career, the lack of Phipps's notoriety (as well as that of other black jazz performers) has been attributed to the reportage of white jazz critics.

Recording and performance

Phipps recorded baritone sax on several seminal jazz albums, including '' Primitive Modern'' with the Gil Melle Quartet (1956), ''

Gin and Orange ''Gin and Orange'' is a 1969 album by organist Brother Jack McDuff recorded both live and in the studio which was his third release on the Cadet label.Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...

, hosted by Bill Cosby, Chevy Chase, Whoopi Goldberg and Branford Marsalis. Despite failing health, Phipps continued to perform live in the New York city area and to record with other notable jazz musicians. In an homage to his Newark origins, Phipps performed with the Newark Jazz Elders, whose members provided a generational bridge between 1950s bebop and contemporary jazz.

Selected discography

* '' Primitive Modern'' – Gil Melle Quartet (LP), Prestige Records, 1956 * ''

Gin and Orange ''Gin and Orange'' is a 1969 album by organist Brother Jack McDuff recorded both live and in the studio which was his third release on the Cadet label.Jack McDuff Eugene McDuff (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era ...

(Album, CD), Cadet, 1969 * ''Ocho'' (LP, Album), West Side Latino Records, 1972 * '' Joy of Cookin''' – Joe Thomas (LP), Groove Merchant, 1972 * ''Tornado'' (LP), El Sonido, 1976 * ''Mamey Colora'o / Sneakin' Up Behind You'' (LP), El Sonido, 1976 * ''Sabroso!: The Afro-Latin Groove'' (LP), Rhino Records, 1998 * ''Ocho (The First Album)'' (CD, Album, RE), Universal Sound 2000 * ''The Woman in Me (CD), Laranah Phipps Flat 5 Records (USA), 2001 * ''Moon Rappin' '' (CD), Blue Note Records (USA), 2002 * ''Phipps & Friends '' (CD), Pipeline Music (USA), 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phipps, Billy American jazz baritone saxophonists Musicians from Newark, New Jersey Crossover jazz saxophonists Hard bop saxophonists 2011 deaths 1931 births 20th-century American saxophonists