Phil Cook is an American guitarist,

banjoist This article comprises two separate lists. The first consists of primary banjo players and the second of celebrities that also play the banjo. Primary banjo players A listing of notable musicians who play the banjo as a major part of thei ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, and singer. He is a member of the

freak-folk Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelia that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of folk, but adds musical elements common to psychedelic music. Char ...

band

Megafaun Megafaun is an American psychedelic folk band based in Durham, North Carolina.Mongillo, Peter (2010) "Megafaun relaxes into headlining slot", '' Austin American-Statesman'', April 27, 2010, p. D02 History Brothers Brad Cook (bass, guitar) and Phi ...

. Before he became a member of Megafaun, Cook was part of

DeYarmond Edison DeYarmond Edison is the former band of the members of Bon Iver, Megafaun, and Field Report. Guitarist and vocalist Justin Vernon went on to create Bon Iver; three members (Brad Cook: bass, guitar; Phil Cook: keyboards, banjo; Joe Westerlund: Per ...

which is a band led by

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, ''For Emma, Forever Ago,'' independently in July 2007. The majority of the album was recorded while Vernon ...

Justin Vernon Justin DeYarmond Edison Vernon (born April 30, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the primary songwriter and frontman of indie folk band Bon Iver. Known for his distinct falsetto voic ...

. He also plays in the band Gayngs as well as the Shouting Matches which is fronted by Vernon. Additionally he is affiliated with MC Taylor and his band Hiss Golden Messenger. Outside of his musical career, Cook worked at the Center for Inquiry Based Learning at Duke University where he "assembled hands-on science kits for elementary schools." He draws on diverse influences including Bill Evans,

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions ...

, Keith Jarrett,

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. Career In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he h ...

, Ry Cooder,

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage band cultu ...

, John Kamman, and

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...

. His second solo album, ''Southland Mission,'' was released on September 11, 2015; it has been referred to as the greatest known example of "the John Kamman sound." Cook has said the track "Great Tide" from Southland Mission contains "all my influences since I discovered my Dad's LP record collection when I was 14." He released his first solo album, ''Hungry Mother Blues,'' in 2011. He graduated from the

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

with a degree in music in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Phil Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) American male singers American banjoists American folk musicians University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire alumni American male pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians DeYarmond Edison members