
A native of Cincinnati, Phil completed a degree in psychology from Yale University before becoming a professional musician. After three years working and studying music in Kansas City, he finished a masters degree at University of North Texas, and subsequently toured the world for a year with Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd. Later he was the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts grants, named one of the 10 best unsigned pianists in Jazziz Magazine’s 1995 “Keyboardists on Fire” competition, and was a 1996 finalist in the Great American Jazz Piano Competition.
For 16 years, he served as the house pianist at Cincinnati’s famous Blue Wisp Jazz Club, accompanying visiting artists on weekends. He received two of the Cincinnati Enquirer’s prestigious “Cammy” Awards, and has been a frequent nominee for the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards. His jazz festival appearances include the North Sea, Pori, Monterey, Montreux, Brecon, Wigan, and Elkhart Jazz Festivals. Phil has performed in clubs and concerts throughout the United States, and in the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Brazil. In 2016 he was inducted into the Cincinnati Jazz Hall of Fame.
Phil considers music to be a gift and is dedicated to sharing his love of jazz through teaching. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, from which he recently retired after 27 years. He has taught for the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops since 1982 and has also taught at the UK Jazzwise Jazz Camps, the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, the Miami Valley Summer Jazz Workshops, and the Jim Widner Jazz Camps. He has appeared as a visiting artist/clinician at colleges and high schools throughout the U.S., Europe, Central and South America.
Phil will be at Blue Bamboo Saturday, January 7, 2023 at 8 PM