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Phil DeGreg
Phil DeGreg began playing the piano in his childhood and now performs as a jazz pianist internationally. His earliest jazz influences were Bud Powell and Bill Evans, but he is accomplished and comfortable in a wide range of jazz styles, ranging from mainstream to bebop to Brazilian jazz. His versatility has led to professional performances with dozens of internationally recognized jazz artists, as well as leading and recording with his own groups. Phil DeGreg has released nine recordings as a leader and has been recorded as a sideman on many other jazz projects. He is also featured with J.J. Johnson on the video "J.J. Johnson Live in Concert." His most recent recorded project is a piano trio recording “Down the Middle” featuring drummer Joe LaBarbera and bassist Tom Warrington.
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. He was named one of the 10 finalists in Jazziz Magazine's 1995 "Keyboardists on Fire" competition, and was a 1996 finalist in the Great American Jazz Piano Competition. For for 16 years he served as the house pianist at Cincinnati's famous Blue Wisp Jazz Club, accompanying visiting artists on weekends. 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.
Phil considers music to be a gift and is dedicated to sharing his love of jazz through teaching. He is currently Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, where he teaches jazz theory, arranging, piano, and ensembles. He has taught for the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops (since 1982), the UK Jazzwise Jazz Camps (since 1996) and has served on the faculty of 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 has presented lecture/demonstrations to the International Association of Jazz Educators, the National Group Piano Teachers Association, the Ohio Music Educator's Association, the Ohio Music Teachers Association, and the Music Teachers National Association, and has published articles for Jazz Player Magazine. In 1995 he published "Jazz Keyboard Harmony," a chord voicing method written for non-pianists and beginning jazz pianists, which is now used at universities in the U.S. and Europe.
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Kent Engelhardt & Stephen Enos: Madd For Tadd
by Jack Bowers
The masterworks on this second edition of Madd for Tadd are presented on two discs, one of which bears the name of one of composer/pianist Tadd Dameron's classic themes, “Our Delight." Oddly, the other is named for the only non-Dameronian item on the menu, “Central Avenue Swing," written by saxophonist and Dameron chronicler Kent Engelhardt who adapted the composer's tasteful charts for a big band and co-leads the ensemble with trumpeter Steve Enos. Although he is most ...
read morePhil DeGreg: Queen City Blues
by Mike Jurkovic
Jaunty recordings like pianist Phil DeGreg's latest Queen City Blue are what we all need from time to time to just kick back and catch our breath for a few minutes or drive from here to there without all the pressing needs, traffic roadblocks, and political wrong-headedness closing in. No grand statements, no big names. Just three trusted, Ohio-based jazz journeymen, exponents, advocates, and devoted educators--DeGreg, along with studied bassist Aaron Jacobs and solid time keeping from drummer John Taylor--playing ...
read morePhil DeGreg: Cincinnati Jazz Heavyweight
by Michael Shults
Cincinnati-based pianist Phil DeGreg has made his mark in the jazz world over the past three decades as a recording artist, composer, and pedagogue. An alumnus of the Woody Herman band, DeGreg boasts ten recordings as a leader, and has appeared alongside J.J. Johnson on the legendary trombonist's video Live in Concert (City Hall, 2007). Since 1991, he has been a Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Cincinnati's esteemed College Conservatory of Music, and his 1994 text Jazz ...
read morePhil DeGreg: Whirl Away
by Jim Santella
Pianist Phil DeGreg combines hot bop, the blues, and modal melodies on his second J Curve album. His modern mainstream approach to jazz emphasizes the lyrical side, while supplying lively rhythmic substance. DeGreg’s quintet moves from unison saxophone & guitar or unison piano & guitar to extended solo work, keeping each piece lively through syncopation and gentle surprises. Alternating the faster action with slower, piano trio ballads, DeGreg offers the best of both worlds.
In an interesting twist of fate, ...
read morePhil DeGreg: Whirl Away
by Jim Santella
Pianist Phil DeGreg combines hot bop, the blues, and modal melodies on his second J Curve album. His modern mainstream approach to jazz emphasizes the lyrical side, while supplying lively rhythmic substance. DeGreg’s quintet moves from unison saxophone & guitar or unison piano & guitar to extended solo work, keeping each piece lively through syncopation and gentle surprises. Alternating the faster action with slower, piano trio ballads, DeGreg offers the best of both worlds.
In an interesting twist of fate, ...
read morePhil DeGreg: The Green Gate
by Jim Santella
From the mainstream, pianist Phil DeGreg leads his trio and quartet through a varied program of material, both familiar and fresh. The pianist, whose experience includes work with Slide Hampton, Stanley Turrentine, Eddie Harris, and Woody Herman’s orchestra, is an Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. Real Audio clips from four of the album’s tracks may be found at http://www.jcurverecords.com/releases.html .
“Bouncin’ With Bud" opens the session and offers a good look ...
read morePhil DeGreg: The Green Gate
by Jack Bowers
While I’ve always found it difficult (if not impossible) to identify pianists in a blindfold test (okay, I think I could name Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner and a few others), I do know enough to separate the sheep from the goats — in other words, I think I can tell who the players are, who swings and who doesn’t. Phil DeGreg is definitely a player, abundant evidence of which can be found on his enormously pleasurable J Seven debut, The ...
read moreKim Pensyl and Phil DeGreg's "Melodious Monk"
Source:
Michael Ricci
Does the world need another recording of the music of Thelonious Monk? Absolutely! And the world will be a better place because of this one. Monk's genius showed through in his brilliant performances, his moods and emotions, but mostly in his timeless compositions. A master of complex musical structures and perfectly placed notes, his work influenced a generation of composers. The collaboration between Kim Pensyl and Phil DeGreg pays tribute to Monk's melodies in this beautiful collection. Pensyl's arrangements are ...
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