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Anne Phillips

Growing up near Reading, Pennsylvania, Phillips ‘played piano by ear non-stop as a child’, later studying piano and voice. She attended Oberlin College, singing in her freshman year with the college big band. She had her own radio show, singing and playing on the college station, and sang with a college trio that was the supporting act on the occasion of Dave Brubeck’s famous Brubeck At Oberlin concert. After attending the New England Conservatory of Music, she relocated to New York City. There, she performed on a number of live television shows as a member of two of the best known choirs, the Ray Charles Singers and the Norman Luboff Choir. She also sang demonstrations for songwriters such as Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Carole King, Neil Diamond and Paul Simon.

After making her recording debut in 1959 for Roulette Records, with Born To Be Blue, the marked shift in popular music patterns resulted in a highly successful career in the studios. Phillips now became one of the most respected and in-demand studio performers in the music business in New York City. Throughout the 60s, she sang in backing groups on countless recording sessions, wrote, arranged and produced commercials for the American Gas Association, Kent Cigarettes, Campbell’s Soup, Sheraton Hotels and Pepsi Cola. Artists with whom she worked during these years include the Sammy Davis Jnr. , the Four Tops, Leslie Gore, Linda Ronstadt, Mahalia Jackson, Wilson Pickett and Martha And The Vandellas. She formed her own choir for recording and broadcasting, and became music director at St. Bartholomew’s Church on Park Avenue. She wrote book, lyrics and music for The Great Grey Ghost Of Old Spook Lane, a children’s show that has been produced by many theatrical groups and, with her husband, tenor saxophonist, Bob Kindred, created Bending Towards The Light … A Jazz Nativity, the Christmas story told through the medium of jazz. This work is produced annually in New York and elsewhere in America and has featured guests such as Brubeck, Al Grey, Lionel Hampton, Tito Puente and Clark Terry. She and her husband also operate a non-profit organization, the Kindred Spirit Foundation. Additionally, from the early 90s onwards, Phillips has been on the adjunct faculty of the Jazz and Contemporary Music Department at New York University, where she arranges for and directs the NYU Jazz Choir.

When she returned to an own-name recording session in 2000, it was her songs that demonstrated vividly how attuned she is to the great qualities of American popular song.

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Recording

Recent Listening: “New” Ones By Anne Phillips And Roger Kellaway

Recent Listening: “New” Ones By Anne Phillips And Roger Kellaway

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey

Until recently, it may have seemed that the singer and songwriter Anne Phillips had resigned as a performer. She had not. Those who remember her 1959 debut album, Born To Be Blue, may be delighted to know that her years below the radar as a writer, arranger, conductor and studio musician did nothing to dilute her impact as a performer. She has buoyed her undiminished presence with a follow-up to her second rare album, Gonna Lay My Heart On The ...

Recording

Anne Phillips: 'I Remember Birdland'

Anne Phillips: 'I Remember Birdland'

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

In 1959, Anne Phillips recorded Born to Be Blue (Roulette)—one of the finest female vocal albums of the year. I posted about it here in 2011 along with my conversation with Anne. A few days ago, Anne and I exchanged emails and she shared with me new lyrics she wrote to the melody of Lullaby of Birdland—along with a 2007 demo recording of her singing her new lyrics backed by Marian McPartland on piano. The original song and lyrics were ...

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Interview

Interview: Anne Phillips

Interview: Anne Phillips

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Back in August, I poked fun at vocalist Anne Phillips. Well, not atAnne, personally, but at the cover of her 1959 album for Roulette, Born to Be Blue. Having her pose down at the rat-infested Brooklyn piers made the LP cover a natural target for my weekly “Oddball Album Cover" feature. Well, it turns out Anne has thick skin and a fabulous sense of humor. After exchanging emails recently,she agreed to tell me—and you—the story behind her 1959 LP, which ...

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Performance / Tour

A JazzCab Evening With Anne Phillips And Matt Perri at the Triad Wed. March 23rd at 7pm

A  JazzCab Evening With  Anne Phillips And Matt Perri at the Triad Wed. March 23rd at 7pm

Source: All About Jazz

February 28, 2005 To: Listings/Critics/Features From: JAZZ PROMO SERVICES Press Contact: JIM EIGO, [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE A JAZZCAB EVENING WITH ANNE PHILLIPS AND MATT PERRI Wed. March 23rd at 7pm The TRIAD, 158 West 72nd Street (bet. Bdwy & Col) Subway 1,2,3,9 to 72nd Street Cover $15 2 dr. min. Res. 212-787-7921 Singer-songwriter, Anne Phillips, known for her classic album “Born To Be Blue" will appear at the Triad with Matt Perri, a former student of hers at NYU. ...

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