Barre Phillips, the renowned U.S.-born jazz bassist, has passed away at the age of 90. The musician, who had called France home from 1968 to 2021, died in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on December 28, 2024.
Born in San Francisco on October 27, 1934, Phillips briefly studied with S. Charles Siani, Assistant Principal Bassist with the San Francisco Symphony, in 1959. In the 1960s, he recorded alongside jazz greats such as Eric Dolphy, Jimmy Giuffre, Archie Shepp, Peter Nero, Attila Zoller, Lee Konitz, and Marion Brown.
Phillips’ 1968 recording of solo bass improvisations, released under several titles—Journal Violone in the U.S., Unaccompanied Barre in England, and Basse Barre in France on Futura Records—is widely regarded as the first-ever solo bass album.
Over the years, Barre Phillips continued to explore solo bass, releasing albums like Call Me When You Get There (1984) and End to End (2018) on the ECM label, known for its collaborations with other groundbreaking bassists such as Gary Peacock, Dave Holland, and Arild Andersen. His 1971 album Music from Two Basses with Dave Holland is often credited as the first improvised double bass duet record.
Phillips made his first trip to Europe in 1964 with George Russell’s sextet, returning later to settle in France after stints in London. His early collaborations with British or British-based musicians include John Surman’s How Many Clouds Can You See?, Mike Westbrook’s Marching Song, and his work with Chris McGregor’s sextet and trio in 1969.
In the 1970s, Phillips became a member of the influential group The Trio, alongside saxophonist John Surman and drummer Stu Martin. They recorded their self-titled debut and Conflagration!, the latter featuring an expanded lineup. Over the years, Phillips collaborated with a range of musicians, from Derek Bailey to Robin Williamson, and regularly performed with Barry Guy’s London Jazz Composers Orchestra. Two ECM albums with Paul Bley and Evan Parker—Time Will Tell (1995) and Sankt Gerold (2000)—are highly regarded.
In 2016, Phillips contacted Manfred Eicher, expressing a desire to record a final solo album to document “the last pages of a journal that began fifty years ago.” This resulted in End to End, a powerful exploration of solo bass artistry. His final release, however, was Face à Face, a duo album with György Kurtág Jr. on electronics, released in 2022.
Phillips also contributed to the soundtracks of several films, including Merry-Go-Round (1981), Naked Lunch (1991, in collaboration with Ornette Coleman), and Alles was baumelt, bringt Glück! (2013).
Canadian jazz critic and author Mark Miller paid tribute to Phillips on Facebook, recalling his 1984 solo performance at The Music Gallery in Toronto. Miller described the performance as “modestly theatrical but musically visionary,” noting how Phillips redefined the bass “as an orchestra in and of itself.”
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