Mike Phillips

Contemporary jazz saxophonist Mike Phillips fuses romantic, fluid lines with a groove-oriented approach shaped by hip-hop. After gaining notice in the 2000s as a supporting player for Jill Scott, he went on to perform alongside Prince, Stevie Wonder, and Bootsy Collins. Phillips has also issued his own recordings, among them the 2005 release Uncommon Denominator and the 2020 set Pulling Off the Covers.

Born in Mount Vernon, New York, Phillips developed an early passion for music and tried several instruments before settling on saxophone. His formative listening drew from both established and newer figures such as John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Grover Washington, Jr., George Howard, and Art Porter. By age sixteen he had committed to a professional path. An initial professional engagement came in 1993 at Wilson’s Nightclub in New York; that appearance opened doors to session and side work with Groove Theory, Jon Lucien, and Jill Scott. He toured with Scott in 2001 and issued his first album, You Have Reached Me, the next year on Hidden Beach Recordings.

Uncommon Denominator, Phillips’s second album, appeared in 2005. Additional recording and touring opportunities followed with Scott, Stevie Wonder, Tom Braxton, Prince, and Michael Jackson. He resumed his own catalog in 2010 with MP3 and contributed to projects by Lin Rountree and Bootsy Collins. In 2020 Phillips completed his fourth leader date, Pulling Off the Covers.