Home » Member Page

Phil Brown

About Me

Composer, jazz artist, and music educator, Philip Brown, is Professor Emeritus of Double Bass and Jazz Studies at Southern Illinois University. His performance career has included occasional dates with first-line jazz artists, as well as full-time seasons with professional symphony orchestras. Based in southern Illinois, Brown is the bassist with the New Arts Jazztet (NAJ), and continues to be active as a free-lance musician. His writing efforts have produced nearly 50 original tunes for the NAJ, and he has released four recordings as leader featuring many of those compositions. In 2003, the Illinois Arts Council honored Brown for his work and commitment within the arts with an Artist Fellowship Award in music composition. He completed his undergraduate studies in composition at Northwestern University, and his graduate work in music education at North Texas State University. Brown’s bass teachers have included Lawrence Hurst, Ringwalt Warner, Evan Tonsing, Warren Benfield, and Edward Rainbow. He studied composition with M. William Karlins, and with Luciano Berio. Brown is a native of Amarillo, Texas.

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because... I was first exposed to jazz... I met [musician name]... The best show I ever attended was... The first jazz record I bought was... My advice to new listeners... Or whatever else you have in mind.