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Phil Stockli

Saxophonist Phil Stöckli has returned to Switzerland after having lived ten years in the United States. He has performed with Benny Golson, Phil Woods, Dusko Goykovich, Buddy deFranco, Matthieu Michel, Franco Ambrosetti, Roman Schwaller, Nico Assumpção, Brad Leali, Don Friedman, Little Joe Cook und "The Dells".

Stöckli was born in Basel, Switzerland on May 16, 1973, and started playing the saxophone at age thirteen. He showed an early interest in improvisation and commenced his jazz studies at the age of sixteen at the Jazz School Zürich, before attending the Swiss Jazz School in Bern. At the age of twenty, Phil moved to Boston and enrolled at Berklee College of Music. His teachers included Joe Viola, George Garzone und Andy McGhee among others. Besides school, he studied privately with saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi for about three years. While working with different local Boston bands - styles range from R&B, Blues, Top40, Jazz, Funk or Reggae - he also founded the Phil Stöckli sextet, and had his first professional performances 1995 in Switzerland.

In 1997, tours with Turkish composer Mehmet Sanlikol to Turkey, Argentina and Brazil followed. He also worked on Carnival Cruise ships in the Caribbean. Subsequently Phil started a teaching position at "Central Music" in Brockton, MA.

In 1997, he received his Bachelor's degree "Magna cum laude" from Berklee College.

In 1998, he recorded his first album "The Horizon" for the BRAMBUS label with Swiss Flügelhornist and 25-year-ENJA recording artist Franco Ambrosetti. Trumpeter Matthieu Michel (Vienna Art Orchestra) replaced Ambrosetti on the following two tours through Switzerland and Italy. In the fall 1999, Phil moved to New York City. Apart from freelancing, he became a member of the Haitian Band "System Band". With them and other Haitian bands, he did many recordings and performances from Haiti, Montreal, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, Miami, Orlando, to the Bahamas, New York and Paris.

In late 2000, Phil performed at the "Generations" Festival in Frauenfeld, Switzerland with such greats as Benny Golson, Dusco Goykovich, Don Friedman, Brad Leali and Roman Schwaller. Soon thereafter, Phil started teaching at the "Westerhoff School of Music" in Metuchen, NJ.

In January 2001, Phil's New Swiss Quartet was invited to perform at the "MIDEM" in Cannes (France), and a tour of Switzerland followed, featuring original compositions.

In July 2003, Stöckli released his new album "Third Eye" on the Fresh Sound New Talent label. It features all original compositions. The band consisted of some of New York's most promising young players: Jeff Ballard (Chick Corea, Kurt Rosenwinkel) on drums, Matt Penman (Rosenwinkel, Chris Cheek) on bass, Pete Rende (Chris Cheek) on piano and Mike Moreno (Jeff Watts, Greg Osby) on guitar.

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Album Review

Phil Stockli Quintet: Third Eye

Read "Third Eye" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose


The title of this disc may be slightly misleading. If its creator, saxophonist Phil Stockli, is to be taken at his word, you should be transported on an astral expedition, the kind of which Pharoah Sanders and Dr. Lonnie Liston Smith regularly course. Or you may expect to experience a sense a moving inner spirit. This does not happen with or as a result of the music on Third Eye.

But what emerges is still beautifully intense. Stockli's ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Third Eye

Fresh Sound Records
2004

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