Video
Like any modern musician these days, I have my own YouTube page. However, as the years go by, I’ll often discover performances popping up around the web from various sources that I did or did not know about. Sometimes I’m not even tagged, though I’d like to be.
I’ve created this page to pull in a few of my personal favorites from my own page, as well as a few discoveries. If you’d like to see everything I’ve uploaded, my YouTube address is www.youtube.com/bassphil (should be easy to remember!)
Tri-Fi
Matthew Fries, Keith Hall and I were brought together as the backing trio for jazz vocalist, Curtis Stigers, and toured extensively building up a level of musical communication that has become rare in the jazz world. In 2003 we began performing as the trio, TRI-FI – stepping into the spotlight and building on this musical chemistry with original compositions, new arrangements, and a vibrant swing in the tradition of the classic jazz piano trio.
The videos below are just a small offering from our last decade of concerts. Check out our website at www.tri-fi.com.
The Bill Mobley Big Band
For the last few years I’ve been hiding in the rhythm section of one of the best big bands in the world every Monday night here in New York City. I’m talking about the Bill Mobley Big Band! We released a critically acclaimed double CD in 2011, and luckily a few cameras were rolling.
The most amazing thing about the recording session is that we laid down over 13 tracks in about 4 hours time! Nearly everything on the double CD is one take. The videos below use the mastered audio files from the recording.
The Scott LaFaro Sessions
I’ve been fortunate to have been granted access to one of the bass worlds most valued treasures, Scott LaFaro’s 1825 Abraham Prescott Bass. With it, I recorded my 2011 release RE:Person I Knew – A Tribute to Scott LaFaro. The great luthier Barrie Kolstein owns the instrument, whose father Sam Kolstein restored for LaFaro around 1957. It’s the very same bass that Scott used for the Bill Evans Vanguard Sessions.
The first time I had the bass in my possession I found it hard to set down! Here are a few clips from my house where I completely geeked-out.
I also brought a camera along to the recording session at Bennett Studios.
Barrie Kolstein surprised me in the following spring when he offered to let me have the bass yet again, this time for the CD release party. Here are a collection of videos from my CD release weekend at the Kitano in NYC. Joining me are Don Friedman on piano, Eliot Zigmund on drums.
718
Pianist Matthew Fries + drummer Eric Halvorson + bassist Phil Palombi = 718.
We’ve been asked more than a few times why we call the trio 718. Well, it’s easy. It’s the area code for every NYC borough other than Manhattan. More significantly, as rents rose in Manhattan, the creative people (i.e. financially disadvantaged people) fled the city to the boroughs- area code (718).
In the winter of 2012 Matthew, Eric and I thought it would be fun to play together at Eric’s studio in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Originally, we didn’t have any major aspirations to seriously record. You know, we’d spend an afternoon playing with the tape rolling just because we can. I suggested an electric bass theme, so Matthew decided to bring his Nord electric piano. A few days later we listened to what went down and thought, wow, there is something going on.
Then things got serious. I decided to drag my Fender Rhodes down to Brooklyn for Matthew to play, and we all started writing original tunes for the trio. We also set up cameras! Things really began to coalesce, but still, something was missing. Then Matthew and I brought a bunch of effects pedals. That sealed the deal. We were having waaaay too much fun! Look for our first release in the fall of 2012! Until then, here’s some of the footage from Eric’s studio.
Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
I was fortunate to have been Denis Irwin’s sub for the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra since I moved to town. I felt like my bass teacher groomed me for that band when I was in college! When Denis became to ill to play, I stepped into the chair for about a year’s time, recording the Grammy award winning double CD Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard.
Below, I’ve linked to two videos from the Hague Jazz Festival in Holland, and one video from the live recording date at the Village Vanguard.
Terell Stafford
Terell Stafford is one of the most exciting trumpet players in the world today! I was fortunate to tour with him a few years ago, and even more fortunate to have found some video from that tour. The band consisted of Terell on trumpet, Tim Warfield on saxophone, Dana Hall on drums, and Bruce Barth on piano.
