Simon Phillips
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Simon Phillips (born February 6, 1957 in London, England) is a prolific jazz and rock drummer. He is best known for his work with Toto, but has played with a wide array of musicians including Jeff Beck, Jack Bruce, Brian Eno, Mike Oldfield, Gary Moore, Mick Jagger, Phil Manzanera, John Wetton, and Stanley Clarke. He was also the drummer for the Who in their 1989 American reunion tour, and appeared on recordings by band members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend. He has also worked with heavy metal acts Judas Priest on "Sin After Sin" and Michael Schenker's debut album "The Michael Schenker Group."
Simon began to play professionally at the age of twelve in his father's Dixieland band for four years. He was then offered the chance to play in the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". He quickly became a sought-after session player, until he joined Toto in 1992. The same year, he released 2 instructional videos displaying some of his best work.
He has released four studio albums of varying styles. Simon's trademark is his aggressive and hard-hitting yet "grooving" style. In recent years, some Toto fans complained that he was not "as wild as he used to be" and that he was more of a grooveplayer than a powerdrummer. Simon responded, "I'm getting older and I don't wanna hit so loud"
Simon Phillips is noted for his versatility. He plays pretty much every style (rock, fusion, metal, prog, jazz ). He also plays open-handed, meaning that he plays the hihat with his left hand and the snare with the right, not crossing his hands. The ride cymbal is also played left instead of right. However, when playing jazz music, he switches to playing the traditional way with the hihat and ride. There are not many drummers who can use both techniques.
In 2006, Simon released a new DVD with jazz band Vantage Point called "Resolution" with writer and pianist Jeff Babko, trumpeter Walt Fowler, saxophonist Brandon Fields and bassist Alphonso Johnson.
Right now, Simon is doing the successful "Falling in Between" tour with Toto. After the tour, he wants to record another solo album.
External links
| The Who |
|---|
| Roger Daltrey | Pete Townshend | John Entwistle | Keith Moon |
| Kenny Jones - John "Rabbit" Bundrick - Pino Palladino - Zak Starkey Simon Townshend - Jon Carin - Simon Phillips - Doug Sandom - Colin Dawson |
| Listings |
| Discography - Filmography |
| Other related people |
| Peter Meaden - Kit Lambert - Chris Stamp |
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