Flip Phillips

Joseph Edward Filippelli (March 26, 1915 – August 17, 2001), known professionally as Flip Phillips, was an American jazz 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.[1] Phillips recorded an album for Verve when he was in his 80s. He performed in a variety of genres, including mainstream jazz, swing, and jump blues.

Flip Phillips
Phillips at the Village Jazz Lounge in Walt Disney World
Background information
Birth name	Joseph Edward Filippelli
Born	March 26, 1915 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	August 17, 2001 (aged 86) Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Genres	Jazz, mainstream jazz, swing, jump blues
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Tenor saxophone, clarinet
Years active	1930s–1990s
Labels	Clef, Verve, Chiaroscuro
Associated acts	Woody Herman, Jazz at the Philharmonic

Career

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, Benny Goodman, and Wingy Manone. He was a regular soloist for the Woody Herman band in the middle 1940s and for the next ten years performed with Jazz at the Philharmonic. He retired to Florida, but after fifteen years he returned to music, recording again and performing into his 80s.[1]

He recorded extensively for Clef in the 1940s and 1950s,[2] including a 1949 album of small-group tracks under his leadership with Buddy Morrow, Tommy Turk, Kai Winding, Sonny Criss, Ray Brown, and Shelly Manne.[3] He accompanied Billie Holiday on her 1952 album Billie Holiday Sings.[2]

Discography

As leader

• Flip Phillips Collates (Clef, 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, 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, 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)[4]

As sideman

With Johnny Hodges

• In a Tender Mood (Norgran, 1952 [1955])

With Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich

• The Drum Battle (Verve, 1952 [1960])

With Charlie Parker

• Big Band (Clef, 1954)

References

1. Yanow, Scott. "Flip Phillips". AllMusic. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
2. "Clef Records Catalog". www.jazzdisco.org. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
3. "Verve Records Discography: 1949". www.jazzdisco.org. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
4. "Flip Phillips | Album Discography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 2, 2018.