Barre Phillips (born October 27, 1934 in San Francisco, California) is a jazz and free improvisation bassist. A professional musician since 1960, he migrated to New York City in 1962, then to Europe in 1967. Since 1972 he has been based in southern France where in 2014 founded the European Improvisation Center

He studied briefly in 1959 with S. Charles Siani, Assistant Principal Bassist with the San Francisco Symphony During the 1960s he recorded with (among others) Eric Dolphy, Jimmy Giuffre, Archie Shepp, Peter Nero, Attila Zoller, Lee Konitz and Marion Brown.

Phillips' 1968 recording of solo bass improvisations, issued as Journal Violone in the USA, Unaccompanied Barre in England, and Basse Barre in France, is generally credited as the first solo bass record. A 1971 record with Dave Holland, Music from Two Basses, was probably the first record of improvised double bass duets.

In the 1970s he was a member of the well-regarded and influential group The Trio with saxophonist John Surman and drummer Stu Martin. In the 1980s and 1990s he played regularly with the London Jazz Composers Orchestra led by fellow bassist Barry Guy. He worked on soundtracks of the motion pictures Merry-Go-Round (1981), Naked Lunch (1991, together with Ornette Coleman) and Alles was baumelt, bringt Glück! (2013).

As a free improviser he has worked with (among many others) bassists Peter Kowald and Joëlle Léandre, guitarist Derek Bailey, clarinetists Theo Jörgensmann and Aurélien Besnard, saxophonists Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker and Joe Maneri, and pianist Paul Bley.

Barre is the father of rock guitarist Jay Crawford from the band Bomb, of the bassist Dave Phillips and of singer Claudia Phillips, who was a one-hit wonder in France in 1987 with "Quel souci La Boétie".

Discography

As leader

Alors (Futura, 1970) For All It Is (JAPO, 1973) Music from Two Basses (ECM, 1971) Mountainscapes (ECM, 1976)) Die Jungen: Random Generators (FMP, 1979) Journal Violone II (ECM, 1979) Music by... (ECM, 1980) Three Day Moon (ECM, 1978) Call Me When You Get There, (ECM, 1984) Camouflage (Victo, 1989) Naxos (CELP, 1990) Aquarian Rain (ECM, 1991) Etchings in the Air (PSF, 1996) No Pieces (Emouvance, 1996) Uzu (PSF, 1997) Jazzd'aià, (Bleu Regard, 1998) Play 'em as They Fall (Eyewill, 1999) Trignition (Nine Winds, 1999) Journal Violone 9 (Emouvance, 2001) October Base Trilouge (3D, 2001) After You've Gone (Victo, 2004) Angles of Repose (ECM, 2004) LDP (PSI, 2005) The Iron Stone (ECM, 2006) L' Improviste (CD Baby, 2008) While You Were Out (CD Baby/Kadima Collective, 2009) Everybody Else But Me (Foghorn, 2011)

As sideman

Attila Zoller Quartet: The Horizon Beyond, 1965 Gong: Magick Brother, 1969 The Trio featuring John Surman: The Dawn Sessions, 1970 Terje Rypdal: What Comes After (ECM, 1973) Alfred Harth: This Earth! (ECM, 1983) w/ Paul Bley, Trilok Gurtu & Maggie Nicols Time Will Tell with Paul Bley and Evan Parker (ECM, 1994 Joe Maneri: Tales of Rohnlief (ECM, 1998) Sankt Gerold with Paul Bley and Evan Parker (ECM, 2000) Musique Primale (sornettes, 2009) with Philippe Festou, ensemble contemporain Yin The Rock on the Hill (nato, 2011) trio with Lol Coxhill and JT Bates No Meat Inside (Facing You / IMR, 2013) quartet with François Cotinaud, Henri Roger, and Emmanuelle Somer References ^ a b c Chadbourne, Eugene. "Barre Phillips: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-11-28.  ^ Henkin, Andrey (2004-05-12). "Barre Phillips". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2010-11-28.  ^ http://www.euphorium.de/rubriken/films/Alles%20was%20baumelt,%20bringt%20Gl%FCck!.htm ^ "Barre Phillips | Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 December 2016.  External links Discography FMP releases ECM releases CEPI Authority control WorldCat Identities VIAF: 197307 LCCN: nr90013257 ISNI: 0000 0001 2117 4614 GND: 134484428 SUDOC: 112050832 BNF: cb138984496 (data) MusicBrainz: 4670f76a-b712-439e-813b-613f1e5c0a9c NKC: xx0015922 IATH: w6vn9h7w