Flip Phillips (February 26, 1915 -- August 17, 2001) was a jazz tenor saxophone and clarinet player. He is best remembered for his work with Jazz at the Philharmonic from 1946 to 1957. Over a long career, he played on many albums, retired to Florida for fifteen years, came back to music, and recorded a CD for Verve Records when he was in his 80s. Phillips performed in a variety of genres, not just jazz. ...show more

Flip Phillips (February 26, 1915 -- August 17, 2001) was a jazz tenor saxophone and clarinet player. He is best remembered for his work with Jazz at the Philharmonic from 1946 to 1957. Over a long career, he played on many albums, retired to Florida for fifteen years, came back to music, and recorded a CD for Verve Records when he was in his 80s. Phillips performed in a variety of genres, not just jazz.

These include bebop, mainstream jazz, swing music, jump blues and East Coast blues. In the mid-40s, Phillips was one of the anchors of the Woody Herman band, prior to going out on his own and prior to joining JATP. He also played with the Woodchoppers, a small spin-off group that Herman led. His deep, strong and articulate playing with a very full sound contrasted him to his successors such as Stan Getz in the subsequent Herman bands.[citation needed] His orchestra, which recorded for Verve in 1949, included Buddy Morrow, Tommy Turk, Kai Winding, Sonny Criss, Ray Brown and Shelly Manne.

Phillips was a frequent player at the Odessa Jazz Party in Odessa, Texas. In 1958 he played some solos with Billie Holiday (Album "Last Recording").. ...show less