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Simon Phillips

Simon Phillips is by far one of the world's most renowned and respected drummers, whose style not only reflects his technical gift but also his distinct musical sensibility. Whether it is Rock, Fusion or Jazz, Simon applies the same precision and intensity to his drumming, which is never lacking in emotion and feel.

Simon's professional musical career began at the early age of twelve, performing and recording with his father's - Sid Phillips – Dixiel and band until he turned sixteen. With an offer to play in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, his path was marked and his career in full bloom. Simon soon became one of London's most celebrated session drummers. In his early twenties he was well on his way to having a musical career nothing short of brilliance. To date he has toured and recorded with many bands and artists, including: Mick Jagger, The Who, Jeff Beck, Jack Bruce, Peter Gabriel, Joe Satriani, Tears for Fears, Judas Priest, Roxy Music, Michael Schenker, Nik Kershaw, Phd., Al DiMeola, 801, Pete Townshend, Russ Ballard, Robert Palmer, Stanley Clarke, The Pretenders, Jon Anderson, Whitesnake and Dave Gilmour... to name but a few.

In 1992 Simon decided to move to the USA, coinciding with being asked to join Toto for their world tour. He has remained a full time member ever since. After recording the Toto album "Tambu" in 1995, another year of touring followed in 1996, covering Europe, Japan, SE Asia and South America.

In 1997 Simon took a break from Toto in order to reach a personal milestone: He took his own band on tour, and for the first time he was the bandleader, and it was his music. This great year included tours of Europe, Japan and The United States, and a performance at The North Sea Jazz Festival.

1998 saw the recording of another Toto studio album entitled" Mindfields", followed by 2 years of touring around the world of which the live CD "Livefields" captures. The most recent Toto record "Through the Looking Glass" took the band in 2002/03 on extensive concert trips to Europe and Asia.

Expanding his career from drumming to writing solo projects, Simon recorded his first album "Protocol" in 1988, followed by "Force Majeure" in 1992. "Symbiosis", which he recorded in 1995, was as spirited but more inspired than ever, and showed a change of direction in the compositions. Simon likes to link his growth in songwriting and new artistic depth to his move to the States. The 1997 record "Another Lifetime" shows yet another layer of his tremendously resourceful playing and an even more motivated composing. "Out of the Blue", a live album, followed in 1998 and in 1999 another complete change of style took place in his latest record "Vantage Point", which is a pure, straight ahead jazz album.

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Radio & Podcasts

Holiday Edition With Tim Miller, Tom Coster, Jimmy Haslip And Protocol

Read "Holiday Edition With Tim Miller, Tom Coster, Jimmy Haslip And Protocol" reviewed by Len Davis


The holiday edition of the program features uninterrupted music from Kick The Cat, Tim Miller, Tom Coster and Erik Escobar. Plus Horacio “El Negro" Hernandez, Jimmy Haslip and Simon Phillips Protocol. Playlist Kick the Cat “Scramble" from Scramble (Blue Jazz) 00:00 Tim Miller “Sharp" from Sides (ADM Records) 0:05:36 Tom Coster “Turkish Delight" from Inner Voice (JVC) 11:15 Stuart Hart “Running Out Of Words" from Inner Voice (Mother West) 16:51 EQ “Natural High" from To Speak (Vorticity Music) ...

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Album Review

Dewa Budjana: Naurora

Read "Naurora" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Balinese guitarist Dewa Budjana's seventh album on Moonjune Records, Naurora, reveals--for those who have not heard him--a musician of seemingly unlimited talent and an artist in possession of an expansive vision. He has been called a “progressive fusion maestro" and, if he has to be labeled, that description feels right. Leading off with this disc's eleven-minute title tune, Budjana--who composed, arranged and produced the music here--lays down huge, rich soundscapes in the company of a bunch of forward-looking allstars, including ...

3
Radio & Podcasts

Simon Phillips, Virgil Donati, Jan Hammer and much more

Read "Simon Phillips, Virgil Donati,  Jan Hammer and much more" reviewed by Len Davis


Our Fusion fest continues with Simon Phillips and Protocol, Jan Hammer, Jean-Luc Ponty and Weather Report.Playlist Simon Phillips “Moments Of Fortune" from Protocol 2 (Phantom) 00:00 MSM Schmidt “Medusa" from Life (Laika) 07:18 Virgil Donati “Eleven Part 2" from Ruination (Gildon Music) 14:41 Jan Hammer “Red and Orange" from Oh Yeah (Nemperor) 21:57 Marc Guillermont “Ory 107" from The Space Animals (La Note Bleue) 29:07 Jean Luc Ponty “Far From The Beaten Paths" from Individual Choice (Atlantic) 36:30 ...

6
Album Review

Ray Russell: Fluid Architecture

Read "Fluid Architecture" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


Veteran British guitarist and composer Ray Russell has been active in free jazz, fusion and as a session player. His whole range of experience finds a voice in the opener “Escaping The Six String Cage," as he and synthesist Eric Baldwin explore a wide range of guitar sounds. Slide guitar gives way to lyrical volume pedal swells, followed by rhythmic loops leading into free playing. Lyrical delay evolves into an abstract soundscape, finally returning to slide. Several tracks ...

5
Album Review

Rob Silverman: Drumology

Read "Drumology" reviewed by Jim Worsley


Master drum clinician Rob Silverman, known for his explorative drumming and absorbing instructional videos, teamed up with an impressive line-up of top-flight jazz and fusion drummers to collide the study of drumming with the presentation of original songs penned by Silverman and his brother Michael Silverman. The result, Drumology, is a blend of science, rhythm and melody. For the project, Silverman invited an array of drumming superstars that included Dave Weckl, Simon Phillips, Gregg Bissonette, and Steve Smith.

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Album Review

Simon Phillips Protocol: 4

Read "4" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


All-universe drummer Simon Phillips can navigate just about any rock-related genre with the greatest of ease, given his tenure with Toto, The Who; voluminous discography as a session artist and ongoing leadership with his jazz-rock ensemble, Protocol. On 4 guitar hero Greg Howe replaces Andy Timmons, and Dennis Hamm takes over keyboard duties for Steve Weingart, along with longstanding member, bassist Ernest Tibbs. Ultimately, Phillips strikes gold on the latest rendition, perhaps looming as the band's finest outing to date.

5
SoCal Jazz

Simon Phillips Protocol at Catalina Jazz Club

Read "Simon Phillips Protocol at Catalina Jazz Club" reviewed by Jim Worsley


Simon Phillips Protocol Catalina Jazz Club Hollywood, CA February 6, 2018 Early on, the very engaged crowd at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood knew we were in for a treat. Perhaps it was enough that drummer Simon Phillips and his quartet Protocol were ready to take the stage for an evening of high-energy fusion. After an opening number, Phillips announced, “We will be playing Protocol 4 in it's entirety." ...

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Music Industry

Guitar Virtuoso Roman Miroshnichenko Took Part In A Global Musical Mission With Simon Phillips, Stu Hamm, Charlie Bisharat And Others.

Guitar Virtuoso Roman Miroshnichenko Took Part In A Global Musical Mission With Simon Phillips, Stu Hamm, Charlie Bisharat And Others.

Source: Roman Miroshnichenko

Working alongside renown Pakistani producer Kashan Admani, multi Award-winning guitar virtuoso Roman Miroshnichenko recorded the main acoustic guitar parts for the single ‘We Are One’ featuring famous musicians from all over the world. Top musical talent collaborated on a project with the message of hope and positivity in these testing times: Grammy Award winning violinist Charlie Bisharat, Grammy nominee and legendary drummer Simon Phillips, Indian act Euphoria’s front-man, Dr. Palash Sen, Brazilian singer-songwriter, actress and dancer Luiza Prochet, bassist Stu ...

3

Recording

DarWin Releases Debut Concept Album Origin Of Species Internationally Featuring Drum Legend Simon Phillips

DarWin Releases Debut Concept Album Origin Of Species Internationally Featuring Drum Legend Simon Phillips

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Welcome to the near-future: the world of DarWin. An intricate musical fantasy concept that launched in November 2018 in the UK only with the ambitious single release of “Escape The Maze,” followed by the full length album Origin Of Species. The album is now available internationally on all major digital distribution platforms, with an epic cinematic video of “Escape the Maze” available on YouTube, Facebook and iTunes. More DarWin videos can be found on YouTube and Facebook. Who is DarWin? ...

2

Recording

Guitarist Ramin Partovi To Release His Breakout Album Featuring Scott Henderson, Simon Phillips, Carl Verheyen, Jimmy Johnson, Mike Stern

Guitarist Ramin Partovi To Release His Breakout Album Featuring Scott Henderson, Simon Phillips, Carl Verheyen, Jimmy Johnson, Mike Stern

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Aviator and Hollywood guitarist Ramin Partovi is about to release his breakout album 27 Faces Of A Broken Heart with a completely new concept. The album features an all-star line-up with Scott Henderson, Simon Phillips, Carl Verheyen, Jimmy Johnson, Mike Stern and several others. The double CD is a unique idea where several well known musicians demonstate peak performances on the same song structure and all align to portrait a united message. Ramin Partovi early on in his life gravitated ...

2

Recording

Drum Legend Simon Phillips Releases "Protocol 4"

Drum Legend Simon Phillips Releases "Protocol 4"

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Drum legend & producer extraordinaire Simon Phillips has released Protocol 4 on October 27th on Phantom Recordings, distributed by AMPED. Simon Phillips is by far one of the world's most renowned and respected drummers, whose style not only reflects his technical gift but also his distinct musical sensibility. Whether it is Rock, Fusion, Jazz or World, Simon applies the same precision and intensity to his drumming, which is never lacking in emotion and feel. Simon has upped the ante with ...

1

Recording

Guitar Legend Carl Verheyen Releases New CD Mustang Run Feat. Simon Phillips, Chad Wackerman, Jerry Goodman And Bill Evans

Guitar Legend Carl Verheyen Releases New CD Mustang Run Feat. Simon Phillips, Chad Wackerman, Jerry Goodman And Bill Evans

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

Los Angeles, CA - Much to the excitement of guitar players and Supertramp fans worldwide, guitarist Carl Verheyen has released his new CD 'Mustang Run'. In his 40-plus years of playing the instrument, Carl Verheyen has created a wildly successful, multi-faceted career. He is a critically-acclaimed musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, producer and educator with 11 CDs and two live DVDs released worldwide. Carl is commonly regarded as a guitar virtuoso capable of playing any style of music with remarkable mastery ...

1

Recording

Steve Weingart & Renee Jones - Observatory - Featuring Simon Phillips, Katisse Buckingham And Chris Wabich

Steve Weingart & Renee Jones - Observatory - Featuring Simon Phillips, Katisse Buckingham And Chris Wabich

Source: Stacey Horn-Spirito

With the release of Observatory, their second album in as many years, the husband and wife duo of keyboardist and pianist, Steve Weingart and bassist, Renee Jones continue to celebrate and redefine the music that has inspired them throughout their careers. Tapping into the influence of music legends like Joe Zawinul & Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Wayne Shorter, Weingart & Jones have dramatically thrust the genre in new directions by expressing a potent mixture of compositional risk, ...

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Performance / Tour

Steve Weingart Touring with Simon Phillips Band

Steve Weingart Touring with Simon Phillips Band

Source: All About Jazz

Jazz/Funk keyboard virtuoso Steve Weingart (Steve Lukather Band, El Grupo, Dave Weckl) will be touring with Simon Phillips (drums - Toto, Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani), Andy Timmons (guitar - Olivia Newton John, Danger Danger), Everette Harp (Sax) and Del Atkins (Bass). 21 May 2008 :: Wednesday Nagoya tba Japan 22 May 2008 :: Thursday Nagoya Hoshino 100th Anniversary show Japan 23 May 2008 :: Friday Nagoya Hoshino 100th Anniversary show Japan 24 May 2008 ...

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Performance / Tour

Steve Weingart Touring with Simon Phillips Band

Steve Weingart Touring with Simon Phillips Band

Source: All About Jazz

Jazz/Funk keyboard virtuoso Steve Weingart (Steve Lukather Band, El Grupo, Dave Weckl) will be touring with Simon Phillips (drums - Toto, Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani), Andy Timmons (guitar - Olivia Newton John, Danger Danger), Everette Harp (Sax) and Del Atkins (Bass). 21 May 2008 Wednesday Nagoya tba Japan 22 May 2008 Thursday Nagoya Hoshino 100th Anniversary show Japan 23 May 2008 Friday Nagoya Hoshino 100th Anniversary show Japan 24 May 2008 Saturday Sendai ENN ...

91

Performance / Tour

Steve Weingart & Simon Phillips @ The Baked Potato on 4/12

Steve Weingart & Simon Phillips @ The Baked Potato on 4/12

Source: All About Jazz


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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Seasons Pt. 2

Red Gate Records
2022

buy

Naurora

MoonJune Records
2021

buy

Drumology

Autumn Hill Records
2020

buy

Fluid Architecture

Cuneiform Records
2020

buy

Protocol 4

Phantom Recordings
2017

buy

4

Phantom Recordings
2017

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