All About Jazz

Home » Musicians » Phil Upchurch

We're moving!

All About Jazz is moving to a new location. Please refrain from submitting content, updating content, sending messages, placing orders, etc. until we remove this notice. Thanks for your patience.

Phil Upchurch Phil Upchurch

Chicago-born guitarist and bassist Phil Upchurch has been backing jazz, blues, and pop stars for over 50 years. What magic formula has allowed him to record and perform with everyone from Otis Rush and Donny Hathaway to George Benson and Michael Jackson? Aside from Upchurch’s immense talent and versatility, it also has to do with the fact that the guitarist is very detail oriented”particularly when it comes to rhythmic and melodic phrasing. Whether comping or soloing, Upchurch thinks like a drummer and always plays with and not on top of the band.

“If you listen to [drummer] Philly Joe Jones’ snare, you can get a lot of ideas for rhythmic comping on the guitar,” offers Upchurch, who also points to Miles Davis”with his masterful blend of sustained notes and silence”as essential listening for all aspiring jazzers. Upchurch says that, like Davis, a great soloist must practice mindful interaction with the band, knowing exactly when and when not to play.


Tags

Phil Upchurch guitar
Album Review
Read more articles

Photos

Albums

Watch

Similar

Pat Martino Pat Martino
guitar
George Benson George Benson
guitar
Cannonball Adderley Cannonball Adderley
saxophone
Al Jarreau Al Jarreau
voice / vocals
Jimmy McGriff Jimmy McGriff
organ, Hammond B3
Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Lewis
piano
Jack McDuff Jack McDuff
organ, Hammond B3
Dorothy Ashby Dorothy Ashby
harp
Jazz Crusaders Jazz Crusaders
band/orchestra
Gary Bartz Gary Bartz
saxophone, alto
Cleo Laine Cleo Laine
voice / vocals
Bobbi Humphrey Bobbi Humphrey
flute
Les McCann Les McCann
piano
Idris Muhammad Idris Muhammad
drums
Lonnie Liston Smith Lonnie Liston Smith
keyboards
Ronnie Foster Ronnie Foster
keyboards

Shop for Music

Start your music shopping from All About Jazz and through our retail affiliations you'll support us in the process.

MUSICSTACK
Rare vinyl LPs and CDs from over 1,000 independent sellers
AMAZON
CDs, Vinyl, Blu-Ray DVDS, Prime membership, Alexa, SONOS and more
HD TRACKS
Specializing in high resolution and CD-quality downloads
CD UNIVERSE
Specializing in music, movies and video games
REVERB
Marketplace for new, used, and vintage instruments and gear

All About Jazz needs your support

Donate
All About Jazz & Jazz Near You were built to promote jazz music: both recorded and live events. We rely primarily on venues, festivals and musicians to promote their events through our platform. With club closures, shelter in place and an uncertain future, we've pivoted our platform to collect, promote and broadcast livestream concerts to support our jazz musician friends. This is a significant but neccesary effort that will help musicians now, and in the future. You can help offset the cost of this essential undertaking by making a donation today. In return, we'll deliver an ad-free experience (which includes hiding the bottom right video ad). Thank you.

Get more of a good thing

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories and includes your local jazz events calendar.