An innovative, aggressive drummer, Simon Phillips embarked on his musical career at an early age. He showed affinity for the drums quickly -- beginning with a toy kit at age four, moving on to a snare and cymbal set at six; by age 12, Phillips was performing and recording with his father's Dixieland jazz band. After his father's death, Phillips left the jazz band and began exploring other musical styles, including rock and musicals. A gig as a drummer for a production of Jesus Christ Superstar led to session work, drumming on the demos of various cast members. As his connections in the music scene grew, so did his session credits: From the '70s onward, Phillipsperformed with prominent rock and jazz artists like Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Gil Evans, Stanley Clark, Frank Zappa, and Peter Gabriel. By 1997, however, Phillips was ready to lead his own band. Joined by a cast of seasoned rock and jazz musicians including guitarists Ray Russell and Andy Timmons, saxophonist Wendell Brooks, bassist Anthony Jackson, and percussionist Peter Michael Escovedo, Phillips began touring as a bandleader. This lineup also recorded Phillips' 1997 album Another Lifetime. Three years later, Vantage Point was released. © Heather Phares 2014 AllMusic, a division of All Media Network, LLC. | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/simon-phillips-mn0000754875
If you took musicians who have worked on projects with artists as diverse as Olivia Newton-John, Vanilla Ice, Tim McGraw, Julio Iglesias, Tina Turner, the London Symphony Orchestra, Ashford & Simpson, the Bee Gees, George Benson, Jimmy Buffett, Chick Corea, the Doobie Brothers, the Four Tops, Stephane Grappelli, Lena Horne, Joe Jackson, Madonna, the O'Jays, John Sebastian, Doc Severinsen, Simon & Garfunkel, Steely Dan, Dionne Warwick,Sadao Watanabe, Jon Anderson, Big Country, Roger Daltrey, Mick Jagger, Judas Priest, Mike Oldfield, Trevor Rabin, Joe Satriani, and Whitesnake and put them together on a project, several questions might come to mind. Among those questions might be: Just how big of an army is this? Another would certainly be: What kind of music would these people make? Well, the answer to the first question is, just seven people (Simon Phillips, Andy Timmons, Wendell Brooks, Jeff Babko, Ray Russell, Anthony Jackson, and Pete Escovedo). The answer to the second question is not as simple to answer, but far more interesting. Overall the CD is a very enjoyable variety of jazz, but certainly progressive rock leanings and other sounds do emerge. Expect to hear funk alongside elements of both Pat Metheny and Al Dimeola. Don't be surprised if you pick up on hints of vintage Genesis. As one might expect with musicians boasting the above credentials, the album is exceptionally strong, both in terms of writing and performance. Also coming as no surprise, the drumming is top-notch and makes up a lot of the interest of the CD. However, the rest of the band definitely keep up their ends as well, serving up their unique blend of fusion. This is one that should serve to entertain both jazz aficionados and fans of progressive rock equally well. They just don't make them a lot better than this. © Gary Hill © 2014 AllMusic, a division of All Media Network, LLC. | All Rights Reserved
A brilliant prog-rock, fusion and jazz release from the great drummer Simon Phillips with great compositions and outstanding musicianship from Simon and musicians that include guitarist Ray Russell, bassist Anthony Jackson, and the wonderful Jeff Babko on keys. VHR by A.O.O.F.C. Check out Simon Phillips’ “Symbiosis” album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 138 Mb]
TRACKS
1 Jungleyes 8:07
2 P O V 5:55
3 Freudian Slip 6:45
4 Eyes Blue For You 5:40
5 Kumi Na Moja 8:13
6 Mountain High 5:40
7 E S P 6:10
8 Euphrates 6:36
9 Another Lifetime 6:34
Tracks 3,5,7 composed by Simon Phillips: Tracks 1,2,4,6,8,9 composed by Simon Phillips & Ray Russell
MUSICIANS
Ray Russell - Guitars
Anthony Jackson - Bass
Jeff Babko – Keyboards
Simon Phillips - Drums
Peter Michael Escovedo - Percussion
Wendell Brooks - Saxes
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