Barre Phillips

American double bassist Barre Phillips is renowned for his work in the jazz genre. Born in San Francisco on October 27, 1934, he studied classical music with an assistant bassist of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra before accompanying musicians such as Eric Dolphy, Jimmy Giuffre, Lee Konitz and Archie Shepp in the 1960s. In 1968, he recorded Journal Violone (issued as Unaccompanied Barre in the UK or Basse Barre in France), generally considered as the first solo bass album, whilst Music from Two Basses (1971), with Dave Holland, was the first recording of improvised double bass duets. Relocating to France in the 1970s, he joined jazz group The Trio along with saxophonist John Surman and drummer Stu Martin. He became a frequent player with the London Jazz Composers Orchestra and developed his compositions with contributions to the soundtracks of Merry-Go-Round (1981) and Naked Lunch (1991). He released another solo album, Call Me When You Get There, in 1984 before going on to experiment with percussion on Aquarium Rain (1991). He recorded a live album with Paul Bley and Evan Parker at an Austrian monastery, releasing under the title of Sankt Gerold in 2000. The early 2000s saw several solo albums including October Base Trilouge (2001), After You've Gone (2004), Angles of Repose (2004) and The Iron Stone (2006). He collaborated with Philippe Festou on Musique Primale in 2009 before the solo While You Were Out (2009), Everybody Else But Me (2011), and his final solo album End to End (2018). Barre Phillips died on December 28, 2024, at the age of 90.

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