Barre Phillips


Barre Phillips was an American jazz bassist. A professional musician since 1960, he moved to New York City in 1962, then to Europe in 1967. From 1972 he was based in southern France, where in 2014 he founded the European Improvisation Center.
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Life and career

Phillips was born in San Francisco, California on October 27, 1934. He studied briefly in 1959 with S. Charles Siani, Assistant Principal Bassist with the San Francisco Symphony. During the 1960s, he recorded with Eric Dolphy, Jimmy Giuffre, Archie Shepp, Peter Nero, Attila Zoller, Lee Konitz, Marion Brown, Gong, Nino Ferrer, and Colette Magny.
Phillips' 1968 recording of solo bass improvisations, issued as Journal Violone in the US, Unaccompanied Barre in England, and Basse Barre in France on Futura Records, 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 improvised double 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. In the 1980s and 1990s, he played regularly with the London Jazz Composers Orchestra, led by fellow bassist Barry Guy.
He had also worked with bassists Peter Kowald, William Parker, and Joëlle Léandre; guitarist Derek Bailey, Terje Rypdal, and Keiji Haino; clarinetists Theo Jörgensmann, Vinny Golia, and Aurélien Besnard; saxophonists Peter Brötzmann, Lol Coxhill, Evan Parker, John Butcher, Manu Dibango, and Joe Maneri; pianists Bob James, Paul Bley, Joachim Kühn, Mal Waldron, and Jacques Demierre; violinists Malcom Goldstein and Takehisa Kosugi; drummers Tony Buck and Limpe Fuchs; trumpetist Manfred Schoof; singer and guitarist Robin Williamson; singers Jeanne Lee, Jay Clayton, and Bobby McFerrin; trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff; and oud player Munir Bachir.
He was also responsible for the soundtracks of several films, including Robert Kramer's Route One/Usa, Jacques Rivette's Merry-Go Round, and David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch.
Barre is the father of the rock guitarist Jay Crawford from the band Bomb; of the bassist Dave Phillips; and of singer Claudia Phillips, who was a one-hit wonder in France in 1987 with "Quel souci La Boétie".
Phillips died on December 28, 2024, at the age of 90.

Discography

As leader

Basse Barre Alors Music from Two Basses For All It Is Mountainscapes Three Day Moon Die Jungen: Random Generators Journal Violone II Music by... Call Me When You Get There, Camouflage Naxos Aquarian Rain Etchings in the Air No Pieces Uzu Jazzd'aià, Play 'em as They Fall Trignition Journal Violone 9 October Base Trilouge After You've Gone Angles of Repose LDP The Iron Stone L' Improviste While You Were Out Everybody Else But Me End to End
  • ''Face à Face''

As sideman