Joe McPhee
Encyclopedia
Joe McPhee is an American
jazz
multi-instrumentalist
born in Miami, Florida
, a player of tenor
, alto
, and soprano saxophone
, the trumpet
, flugelhorn
and valve trombone. McPhee grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York
, and is most notable for his free jazz
work done from the late 1960s to the present day.
McPhee began on trumpet at age eight before learning other instruments. He played in various high school and then military bands before starting his recording career. His first recording came in 1967, when he appeared on the Clifford Thornton
album titled Freedom and Unity. He taught himself saxophone at age 32 after experiencing the music of John Coltrane
, Albert Ayler
, and Ornette Coleman
.
In 1975, Werner Uehlinger started the Swiss label hat Hut Records
, a label specifically designed to showcase the music of McPhee. In the 1980s, McPhee met Pauline Oliveros
, began studying her musical theories, and worked with her Deep Listening Band
. He has not yet signed with any major label in his native United States
, and was possibly better known throughout Europe than his native country until the 1990s. McPhee has recorded or performed with various renowned jazz musicians, including Ken Vandermark
, Peter Brötzmann
, Evan Parker
, Mats Gustafsson
, Dominic Duval
, Jay Rosen, Jeb Bishop
, The Thing
, Clifton Hyde
, Jérôme Bourdellon, Raymond Boni, and many others.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
born in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, a player of tenor
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, alto
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, and soprano saxophone
Soprano saxophone
The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
, the trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, flugelhorn
Flugelhorn
The flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
and valve trombone. McPhee grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie (city), New York
Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
, and is most notable for his free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
work done from the late 1960s to the present day.
McPhee began on trumpet at age eight before learning other instruments. He played in various high school and then military bands before starting his recording career. His first recording came in 1967, when he appeared on the Clifford Thornton
Clifford Thornton
Clifford Thornton was an American free jazz trumpeter and trombonist. Born in Philadelphia in 1939, he studied with trumpeter Donald Byrd in the mid-1950s and worked with various players such as tuba player Ray Draper. After a stint in the army, Thornton moved to New York City...
album titled Freedom and Unity. He taught himself saxophone at age 32 after experiencing the music of John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
, Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.Ayler was among the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s; critic John Litweiler wrote that "never before or since has there been such naked aggression in jazz" He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved...
, and Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
.
In 1975, Werner Uehlinger started the Swiss label hat Hut Records
Hathut Records
Hathut Records is a Swiss record label specialising in jazz and contemporary classical music.Founded in 1975 by Werner X. Uehlinger to document the work of saxophonist / trumpeter Joe McPhee...
, a label specifically designed to showcase the music of McPhee. In the 1980s, McPhee met Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros is an American accordionist and composer who is a central figure in the development of post-war electronic art music....
, began studying her musical theories, and worked with her Deep Listening Band
Deep Listening Band
The Deep Listening Band was founded in 1988 by Pauline Oliveros, , Stuart Dempster, and Panaiotis...
. He has not yet signed with any major label in his native United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and was possibly better known throughout Europe than his native country until the 1990s. McPhee has recorded or performed with various renowned jazz musicians, including Ken Vandermark
Ken Vandermark
Ken Vandermark is an American jazz composer and saxophone and clarinet player.A fixture on the Chicago-area music scene since the 1990s, Vandermark has earned wide critical praise for his playing and his multilayered compositions, which typically balance intricate orchestration with passionate...
, Peter Brötzmann
Peter Brötzmann
Peter Brötzmann is a German artist and free jazz saxophonist and clarinetist.Brötzmann is among the most important European free jazz musicians. His rough, lyrical timbre is easily recognized on his many recordings.-Early life:...
, Evan Parker
Evan Parker
Evan Shaw Parker is a British free-improvising saxophone player from the European free jazz scene.Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free jazz and free improvisation, and has pioneered or substantially expanded...
, Mats Gustafsson
Mats Gustafsson
Mats Olof Gustafsson is a Swedish saxophone player and a stalwart on the Scandinavian free jazz scene. He is known for his tonal belligerence and intensity when improvising....
, Dominic Duval
Dominic Duval
Dominic Duval is an American free jazz bassist.Since the 1990s, Duval has been active principally on the New York City jazz scene. He did not begin recording regularly until the 1990s, but since then has appeared on a very large number of albums, particularly on the labels CIMP, Cadence Jazz, and...
, Jay Rosen, Jeb Bishop
Jeb Bishop
Jeb Bishop is an American jazz trombone player.He grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has studied music at Northwestern University, engineering and philosophy at North Carolina State University, and philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Arizona,...
, The Thing
The Thing (jazz band)
The Thing is a Norwegian/Swedish jazz band, consisting of Mats Gustafsson , Ingebrigt Håker Flaten , and Paal Nilssen-Love ....
, Clifton Hyde
Clifton Hyde
Clifton Hyde is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer currently working from and residing in New York City....
, Jérôme Bourdellon, Raymond Boni, and many others.
Select discography
- Nation Time (1971)
- Oleo & A Future Retrospective (1982)
- Impressions of Jimmy GiuffreJimmy GiuffreJames Peter Giuffre was an American jazz clarinet and saxophone player, composer and arranger. He is notable for his development of forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating forms of free improvisation.-Biography:Born in Dallas, Texas, of Italian ancestry,...
(1991)