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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

tenor saxophone and clarinet player. He is best remembered for his work with Norman Granz's

Jazz at the Philharmonic Jazz at the Philharmonic, or JATP (1944–1983), was the title of a series of jazz concerts, tours and recordings produced by Norman Granz. Over the years, "Jazz at the Philharmonic" featured many of the era's preeminent musicians, including Lou ...

concerts from 1946 to 1957. Phillips recorded an album for

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

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'', ...

, swing, and jump blues.

Career

He was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, 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 Frankie Newton (William Frank Newton, January 4, 1906 – March 11, 1954) was an American jazz trumpeter from Emory, Virginia, United States. He played in several New York City bands in the 1920s and 1930s, including those led by Sam Wooding, Chic ...

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 reco ...

, Benny Goodman, and

Wingy Manone Joseph Matthews "Wingy" Manone (February 13, 1900 – July 9, 1982) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, singer, and bandleader. His recordings included " Tar Paper Stomp", "Nickel in the Slot", "Downright Disgusted Blues", "There'll Come a ...

. He was a regular soloist for the

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

band in the middle 1940s and for the next ten years performed with

. 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 stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pitc ...

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

Buddy Morrow Buddy Morrow (born Muni Zudekoff, aka Moe Zudekoff; February 8, 1919 – September 27, 2010) was an American trombonist and bandleader. Career On a scholarship at age 16, Morrow studied trombone with Ernest Horatio Clarke (1865–1947) at Juill ...

Tommy Turk Thomas Eugene Turk (1927 – August 4, 1981) was an American jazz trombonist. Early life Tommy Turk was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1927. His father, Joseph, was a coal miner and self-taught trumpeter.Leonard, Vince, "Trombonist Turk Slai ...

, Kai Winding,

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

, Ray Brown, and

Shelly Manne Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, s ...

. 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 had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

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 largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

, at the age of 86.

Discography

As leader

* ''Flip Phillips Collates'' (

, 1952) * ''Flip Phillips Collates Vol. 2'' (Clef, 1953) * ''Flip Phillips Quartet'' (

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

, 1953) * ''Jumping Moods'' (Clef, 1954) * ''Rock with Flip'' (Clef, 1954) * ''

The Flip Phillips Buddy Rich Trio ''The Flip Phillips Buddy Rich Trio'' is a 1953 Clef Records release of several small jazz combo tracks recorded in 1951 and 1952. Track listing LP side AAt least one sourceJapanese link indicates the album's track listing as written on the rear ...

'' (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 Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, 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 achi ...

, 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 j ...

, 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!'' (

, 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 Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American 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 soprano ...

* ''

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 Year 955 ( CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also ...

With

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, S ...

and

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...

* '' The Drum Battle'' (Verve, 1952

960 Year 960 ( CMLX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Summer – Siege of Chandax: A Byzantine fleet with an expeditionary force (co ...

With

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

* ''

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 an ...

'' (

, 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