• Source: Phil Upchurch

Phillip Upchurch (born July 19, 1941) is an American jazz and blues guitarist and bassist.




Career


Upchurch started his career working with the Kool Gents, the Dells, and the Spaniels, before going on to work with Curtis Mayfield, Otis Rush, and Jimmy Reed. (His association with Kool Gents member Dee Clark would continue, including playing guitar on Clark's 1961 solo hit "Raindrops".) He then returned to Chicago to play and record with Woody Herman, Stan Getz, Groove Holmes, B.B. King, and Dizzy Gillespie.
In 1961, his record "You Can't Sit Down" by the Philip Upchurch Combo, sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. "You Can't Sit Down, Part 2" peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard charts in the US. And he released his first album. In the 1960s he toured with Oscar Brown, appearing on the 1965 live album, Mr. Oscar Brown, Jr. Goes to Washington. In the mid-1960s he was house guitarist of Chess Records and he played with The Dells, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Gene Chandler. He also played with John Lee Hooker, Grover Washington, Jr. and Cannonball Adderley. Upchurch was part of a group called The Soulful Strings during the 1960s, prior to working with the Rotary Connection on Chess's Cadet label.
In the 1970s, he worked with Donny Hathaway, Harvey Mason, Ramsey Lewis, Quincy Jones and led his own quartet with Tennyson Stephens. He met Bob Krasnow and Tommy LiPuma, the founders of Blue Thumb Records, and he released Darkness Darkness. Upchurch played on Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas" and "The Ghetto". He also played guitar on Hathaway's Live album (1972). In the mid-1970s and 1980s, he performed with George Benson, Mose Allison, Gary Burton, Lenny Breau, Joe Williams, Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole, Carmen McRae, Cat Stevens, David Sanborn, and Michael Jackson. In the 1990s he worked with Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff.




Discography






= As leader

=
You Can't Sit Down, Part Two (Boyd/United Artists #UAL-3162 mono and #UAS-6162 stereo, 1961)
The Big Hit Dances: The Twist... (United Artists #UAL-3175 mono and #UAS-6175 stereo, 1962)
Feeling Blue: The Phil Upchurch Guitar Sound (Milestone #9010; OJC #1100, 1967)
Upchurch (Cadet/Chess #LPS-826, 1969) with Donny Hathaway on piano.
The Way I Feel (Cadet/Chess/GRT #LPS-840, 1970) with Donny Hathaway on piano.
Darkness Darkness (Blue Thumb #BTS-6005, 1972)
Lovin' Feeling (Blue Thumb #BTS-59, 1973)
Upchurch/Tennyson with Tennyson Stephens (Kudu/CTI #KU-22, 1975)
Phil Upchurch (Marlin/TK Records #MAR-2209, 1978) produced by John Tropea and George Benson.
Free & Easy (JAM [Jazz America Marketing] #007, 1981)
Revelation (JAM #011, 1982)
Name of the Game (JAM #018, 1983)
Companions (JAM #021, 1984) issued as Paladin/Virgin #PAL-4 for UK market.
Phil Upchurch Presents L.A. Jazz Quintet (Pro Arte/Intersound #631, 1986) with Brandon Fields, Bobby Lyle, Brian Bromberg, Harvey Mason.
Dolphin Dance (Sound Service #6177, 1987)
Midnite Blue (Electric Bird/King [Japan] #KICJ-53, 1991) compilation of JAM material.
All I Want (Ichiban #ICH-1127, 1991)
Whatever Happened To The Blues (Ridgetop/Bean Bag/Go Jazz #55566; Go Jazz #6006, 1991) issued as Go Jazz #VBR-2066 for Germany market.
Love Is Strange (Ridgetop/Bean Bag/Go Jazz #55552; Go Jazz #6014, 1995)
Rhapsody & Blues (Go Jazz #6035, 1999)
Tell the Truth! (Evidence #22222, 2001) produced by Carla Olson.
Impressions Of Curtis Mayfield by Jazz Soul Seven (BFM Jazz/Varese Sarabande #62413, 2012) produced by Brian Brinkerhoff; co-produced and arranged by Phil Upchurch; featuring Terri Lyne Carrington, Russ Ferrante, Master Henry Gibson, Bob Hurst, Wallace Roney, Phil Upchurch, Ernie Watts. ["The album I'm most proud of", Phil Upchurch 2012].




= With the Soulful Strings

=
Paint It Black (Cadet/Chess #LPS-776, 1966)
Groovin' with the Soulful Strings (Cadet/Chess #LPS-796, 1967)
Another Exposure (Cadet/Chess #LPS-805, 1968)
The Magic of Christmas (Cadet/Chess #LPS-814, 1968)
Back by Demand: The Soulful Strings in Concert (Cadet/Chess #LPS-820, 1969)
String Fever (Cadet/Chess #LPS-834, 1969)
Play Gamble-Huff (Cadet/Chess/GRT #LPS-846, 1971)
The Best of the Soulful Strings (Cadet/Chess/GRT #2CA-50022, 1972) compilation/2-LP set




= As sideman

=
With Mose Allison

Middle Class White Boy (Elektra Musician, 1982)
With Anita Baker

Christmas Fantasy (Blue Note, 2005)
With George Benson

Bad Benson (CTI, 1974)
Good King Bad (CTI, 1975)
Breezin' (Warner Bros., 1976)
In Flight (Warner Bros., 1977)
Livin' Inside Your Love (Warner Bros., 1979)
With Oscar Brown Jr.

Mr. Oscar Brown Jr. Goes to Washington (Fontana, 1965)
With Peabo Bryson and Natalie Cole

We're the Best of Friends (Capitol, 1979)
With Dee Clark

Raindrops (Vee Jay, 1961)
With Natalie Cole

Unpredictable (Capitol, 1977)
I Love You So (Capitol, 1979)
Holly & Ivy (Elektra, 1994)
With Bob Dylan

Christmas in the Heart (Columbia, 2009)
With Sheena Easton

No Strings (MCA, 1993)
With Stan Getz

What the World Needs Now: Stan Getz Plays Burt Bacharach and Hal David (Verve, 1968)
With Dizzy Gillespie

The Real Thing (Perception, 1969)
With Donny Hathaway

Everything Is Everything (Atco, 1970)
Donny Hathaway (Atco, 1971)
Live (Atco, 1972)
Extension of a Man (Atco, 1973)
With Red Holloway

Standing Room Only (Chiaroscuro, 2000)
With Howlin' Wolf

The Howlin' Wolf Album (Cadet Concept, 1969)
The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (Chess, 1971) with Eric Clapton, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Steve Winwood, Ringo Starr, and others...
With Michael Jackson

Off the Wall (Epic, 1979)
With Dr. John

Afterglow (Blue Thumb, 1995)
With Chaka Khan

Chaka (Warner Bros., 1978)
Naughty (Warner Bros., 1980)
With Hubert Laws

The Chicago Theme (CTI, 1974)
With Ramsey Lewis

Them Changes (Cadet/GRT, 1970)
With Jack McDuff

The Natural Thing (Cadet, 1968)
The Heatin' System (Cadet/GRT, 1971)
Magnetic Feel (Cadet/GRT, 1975)
Kisses (Sugar Hill, 1981)
With Carmen McRae

Fine and Mellow: Live at Birdland West (Concord, 1987)
With Jimmy Reed

Soulin' (BluesWay, 1967)
Big Boss Man (BluesWay, 1968)
Down in Virginia (BluesWay, 1969)
With Minnie Riperton

Come to My Garden (GRT, 1970; Janus, 1974)
Minnie (Capitol, 1979)
With Rotary Connection

Rotary Connection (Cadet Concept, 1968)
With Ben Sidran

Don't Let Go (Blue Thumb, 1974)
With Jimmy Smith

Stay Loose (Verve, 1968)
Prime Time (Milestone, 1989)
Sum Serious Blues (Milestone, 1993)
Dot Com Blues (Blue Thumb, 2000)
Black Cat (Castle Pie, 2001)
With Muddy Waters

Electric Mud (Cadet Concept, 1968)
After The Rain (Cadet Concept, 1969)




References






External links


Phil Upchurch official site
Phil Upchurch Interview at NAMM Oral History Library (2015)

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Omar Epps
• Daftar penyanyi country
• Bob Odenkirk
• Phil Upchurch
• Rotary Connection
• Electric Mud
• Steve Gadd discography
• This Christmas (Donny Hathaway song)
• Breezin'
• Breezin' (song)
• Strawberry Letter 23
• The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions
• Blue Thumb Records