Jazz bassist and master of improvisation encouraged by Ornette Coleman who left the US for France
The moment you happen to hear a musical sound that makes your jaw drop is often as important as the sound itself. I first heard Barre Phillips, the double-bass genius and master improviser, who has died aged 90, on a French-released solo recording called Basse Barre in about 1970.
To a young jazz fan who had until then assumed that a jazz bassist’s job was to roam harmoniously around the chord-changes, add the occasional apposite solo, and launch a thumping groove when a band turned the heat up, hearing Phillips’ originality brought realisations that had never occurred to me before.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jan/14/barre-phillips-obituary
Author : John Fordham
Publish date : 2025-01-14 16:57:00
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