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Mike Philly



Last Updated: 11/20/2009

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Status: Single
City: Mount Vernon to da ATL
State: New York
Country: US
Signup Date: 8/26/2007

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Saturday, July 05, 2008 
1:53 AM 
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Monday, June 02, 2008 

Current mood:  animated
We are Proud to announce the 5th installment of the Unwrapped hip hop and jazz series which as sold over 500 hundred thousand copies worldwide will be out on June 24th.

Mike Philly is featured in a 7 page fashion spread paying tribute to the icons of todays black style and fashion with quotes from Puffy, Kanye West, Common and many more in the June and July issue on Upscale Magazine on stands nationwide.

Philly will also be the Musical Director for the the 3rd installment of the BET J series Lyric Cafe. This time the bar has been raised with hosts and good musical friends Ledesi and Raheem DeVaughn.

The Air Jordan 17 is now a Retro!!!! The Air Jordan that was inspired by Mike Philly and Jazz Improvisation will be back on shelves very soon.


Apple is launching a series of in-store performances beginning in June for Black Music Month.

The technology company will feature 22 artists who will perform in seven U.S. cities at different Apple store locations including San Francisco; New York; Atlanta; Troy, Mich.; Santa Monica, Calif.; Miami and Chicago. Among the performers is Hiddenbeach Recording Artist Mike Phillips who is the only instrumentalist on this tour and who is featured on his labels new jazz and hip-hop compilation Unwrapped Vol. 5 in stores on June 24th. Mike will be joined by the music industries finest like Dwele, Marvin Sapp, Wyclef Jean, E40 and many others. Come out and celebrate June which is Black Music Month with Mike Philly.



Apple Store, SoHo
June 13, 7:00 p.m.
New York NY


Apple Store, Lenox Square
June 15, 3:00 p.m.
Atlanta GA




Thanks for all the love and the support!!!!!!



M-Dot-Philly News
10:18 AM 
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Monday, February 18, 2008 

Current mood:  focused
Over the years I have listened to this Guy and said he was one of the coldest. Recently he died from caner but what he has done will never be forgotten. I first saw him play the EWI on a video I saw back in the day and it was crazy!!!!! I first tried to play it but gave up because of the fact that the keys didn't move and I was not cool with that. I just recently picked it up in the last year and i'm loving it. Before Brecker died he sent Glen Darcy a executive at Akai a email talking about me and the ewi that I want to share with you guys.

From: Brecker Michael
Subject: Re: I hear you're back home Sloan ranger!
Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 20:53:46 -0500
To: Glen Darcey

Hi Glen,

Thanks for your email. It's great to be home again,
after a long
struggle in the hospital. I'm still really weak, but
I'll get
stronger again and be back to work!
Thanks for your prayers. It really helps.

I look forward to seeing the Mike Phillips video. I
think I'm his
biggest fan.

Anyway, I will let you know how things are
transpiring here. The EWI
was great in the hospital, until I got too sick to
play it after the
chemo damn near killed me! What a great instrument.

Talk to you soon and lot's of love,
Mike




We Love you Mike!!! Always!!!!!!!
10:02 PM 
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Monday, August 27, 2007 

Current mood:  creative
I was born in Mount Vernon To Violet Phillips and Nathan Mumby both of who moved to Mount Vernon from Jamaica. With 1 brother and 3 sisters I am the baby of the Family. My parents were hard working people who desired a better life and opportunity and believed that they would find it in the United States. My first contact with music was at the age of 3 when I received a gift from my mother, a toy record player. My mother tells me that I would have a fit when any records were missing. She said I would play each record over and over again and when I didn't hear a certain sound from a certain record I would flip out until I would find it. She kind of knew then that I had some connection with music.

When I entered 1st grade, my love of music grew even more when my mother brought me a little toy organ (it sounded soooooo nasty and out of tune) but back then you couldn't tell me anything, I thought it was the best! My connection with music was growing but my dislike for school was also growing because of one thing, I had a very bad stuttering problem. I didn't want to read out loud or even talk. I was teased by all the kids in my neighborhood. Kids back in da days let me have it by calling me names like mah mah mah mah mah mah Mike Phillips and even worse. At age 9, I was assigned to a speech teacher named Mr. Klein. He told me that my mind was faster than the words that were coming out which didn't make sense back then. But once I understood what he was saying, it helped me to conquer one of my biggest fears, talking. As a young child I also possessed a love for sports.

In 2nd grade I didn't have a library card so I decided to just 'borrow' a book called "How to Play Baseball Right." I went on to be a little league star making the all-star teams roaming center field not letting any ball pass me. In football I played for the Mount Vernon Razorbacks where I played wide receiver and caught everything that was thrown my way…ask my quarterback Vick Flack and he will tell you that Mike Phillips was his number one passing option. And in basketball I was a beast on a court across the street from my house. I would shoot at 10 PM at night, it didn't matter to me if it was dark. But even though I had this love for sports, music was in my heart, it was my passion.

In 5th grade a man with a horrible hair piece named Dr. Steinburger asked our class if anyone wanted to join the band. I said yes. I remember the day very clearly, I was in english class and as soon as he asked I raised my hand and said yes. I said yes, not because I wanted to join, but because I hated English class. I had no knowledge about instruments and how they sounded and what they did except for the keyboard. I asked for the saxophone but I thought the Sax was the Trombone. I wanted the horn that I saw in the front row of the bands that I saw in parades, I wanted to be in the front. So when they gave me the trombone, I was like "I don't want that!" Little did I know. But that is all that they had left so I had to take it. The first two weeks were rough and I ended up throwing the horn across the room because it sounded horrible. After I got the hang of it I started playing 2 hours a day turning on the radio or TV and playing the songs that I heard.

I found out how much I loved my horn the day someone stole it. I was playing Mrs. Pac Man and put my horn down to the right side of the video game. I was into the game and when I was done the horn was gone and I was heart broken. I was terrified that my mother would have to pay for it. So I told the Principal that my saxophone was stolen and she got on the intercom and announced, "Whoever took Mike Phillips saxophone will be found out and will be kicked out forever!" And as things go, people started to rat on each other and the next day I got my horn back. Every since that day I only allowed a few people to touch my horn.

Another time that my love for my horn was shown was when I was in 6th grade. It was 6am in the morning when I heard someone screaming upstairs in the apartment above us. The worst of the worst happened on that cold day in December. Our upstairs neighbors' Christmas tree lights shorted out and sparked a fire. I was the only one awake and I woke everyone up and got them out the house. But one thing is for sure, I did go back into my room and got my horn and some clothes and a coat. With nowhere to live, I thank God for people taking us in and the Red Cross for helping us out. My mother promised me and my brothers and sisters that we would get back on our feet. I made a little change by playing to people in the shelters, a dollar here and a dollar there. One thing stayed consistent, my love for my horn and making sure it was with me at all times. With all options running out, we moved back in the house that was about 70 percent burned even though it was not ready to be moved in to yet. The greatest thing about going through all of this was seeing the fight in my mother's eyes. She was determined that we would get back on our feet. This time was especially difficult because my mother was struggling through this alone with her children, my father had died in a car accident one year before.

My middle school years are probably my most fun and happiest memories. I was really coming into my own with playing all the sports that I loved and enjoying the music that I was learning to love. I was incredibly busy with playing three sports and needing time for homework and time to practice my horn and finally to hang with the fellas on da block free-styling rapping and beat-boxing. One of my greatest influences was Mr. Alston, my baseball coach. He was committed to doing things the right way. This is the first time that I can remember learning a lesson and applying it to music. One of my most memorable quotes from Mr. Alston is, "Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." I remember asking him to explain it and he replied, "If you practice the wrong things the wrong way then your quest to get close to perfection won't happen." So I asked myself how I could take this information and apply it musically? So I went to Harlem and purchased jazz tapes like Coltrane ("Kinda Blue"), Bird(everything they had) Dexter Gordon (Live at The Village Vanguard). I also started ear training myself by playing their solos. I remember getting until in trouble because I broke the tape player because the stuff they were playing was so fast that I had to hit the rewind button without hitting the stop button and I broke my mother's stereo and she was pissed. But she understood that it was all about me practicing. And she told me that she would rather a broken stereo to having me hanging out possibly getting into trouble.

It was at Mount Vernon High School where I came into my own musically. Once I reached high school, my thirst for sports kinda dwindled. I still played sports, but I knew by then that music was my true calling, my passion. During my football games when I was not on the field playing offense, I was busy looking at the band and listening to them, not even knowing what down the other team was on. I was even benched for day dreaming on several occasions. Like I cared! To me, it was all about getting on that horn. I would tell the other sax players in the band to bring my horn so that if we won the game, I could jam with the band with my football uniform on.

I made a clean sweep at the talent shows at my high school winning all for years. I was a lil celebrity in Mount Vernon, even going to the senior prom my freshman year. My biggest wake up call was when I competed in The NAACP ACT-SO program. I tried out for the local competition and I was the only guy from Mount Vernon so I easily qualified for the national competition. Being the big headed dude that was, the best in Mount Vernon, I had no Idea what I was up against. Those kids from Houston, Cali, Detroit and all over the country put a spanking on me and I must say it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Being the best in my little town was not good enough and I had to get back on the grind and really learn how to play this horn, being careful not to get too caught up in the people in my hood telling me that I was the next best thing. So I practiced every single day, sometimes 5 hours to 7 hours a day. I started playing in church and started being exposed to something different. Something that meant something more, something with feeling which I now know is the annointing. Mark Murry, an organist from Mount Vernon played these different chords changes to me, much different than what I heard Bird and Coltrane playing. Playing in the church has been the biggest influence in my musical life. It taught me that it is about the spirit in which the music is played in and not so much about the technical skill, even though that is important as well.

When I was 16 years old, I met a guy by the name of Garry Montuie and he invited me to play at a spot in the New York City called Wilson's. I accepted his invitation, but there was one problem, I was still in high school and the gig was on a Sunday night. I had a 8 o'clock class on Monday mornings and the gig didn't end until 1:30 AM. I decided to go anyway. When I arrived at Wilson's there was a long line that was out of control so I went to the front of the libe and told the bouncer that I was in the band and I needed to get inside because I was late. Little did he know that I was just a high school kid just running game. I got in the club and took out my horn and got right on stage with out asking anyone for permission. The band leader Ron Grant, looked at me and said "Who Da *@ are you?" I started to tell him who I was, but the keyboard player stepped in and said "He is cool, leave him alone." So now I am wondering why that line was so crazy out side and I look out into the crowd and oh man, there is Stevie Wonder and I look at another table and there is Baby Face and such a host of other celebrities. Beginning that night, I worked my way in and became a regular at Wilson's for years. A night at Wilson's that I will never forget is when Stevie Wonder sent someone to get my phone number. I was like yeah right. But when he called me himself and in about a month I was playing in South Africa at Nelson Mandela's 80th Birthday celebration; I was scratching my head saying to myself, "How did I get from Mount Vernon to South Africa chillin' in Mandela's crib, the man who represents facing adversity and still winning." It was one of the greatest feelings that I have had.

When I returned back home to Mount Vernon and went back to playing at Wilson's I met another man who would change my life. This man was Wayman Tisdale and since I was a basketball fan I knew who he was but I didn't know he was a musician. He asked me to go on the road with him and this experience changed my whole outlook on what wanted to do. The drummer from ShowTime at the Apollo, Ralph Roole suggested to me that I should do my own thang and to that I said "yeah whatever." All I wanted to do at that time was to play for major artists. By playing with Wayman I saw a great musician who knew how to work a crowd. He gave me the opportunity to play solos on his shows to show the whole world what I could do as a jazz artist. Wayman contacted Steve McKever who had just started Hiddenbeach Records and we did a demo. Steve then sent Charles Whitfield who was also with Hiddenbeach to check out me out at some of Wayman's shows and the rest was history. I was the first instrumental release and the 3rd artist singed to the Hiddenbeach Record label. Thinking back on a conversation that I had with Steve McKeever, I can vividly remember one thing that he said to me. He told me, "If you don't know your direction and what you want this record to be like then I can't help you." This was tremendous to me because so many labels dictate how records are gonna be. I immediately felt at home knowing that all my records would be a product of what was in my heart and soul and not anything else. Don't get me wrong, the road was not that smooth at all. Before I signed with Hiddenbeach Records, I flirted with a record deal with Island Records but nothing came of it and it kinda discouraged me about the industry and how crazy it is sometimes. But I tell people if you have a vision and a goal for yourself then you need to stay committed to it and never to give up no matter how many times you get knocked down. I have been with HB since 2000 and have been on 8 releases titled: "You Have Reached Mike Phillips", Unwrapped Vol. 1-4, Jill Scott Live, Hidden Hits and "Uncommon Denominator," my second solo offering.

There are so many highlights from my career thus far that stick out in my mind. So sifting through them all, here are my top 5 starting with:

5…meeting Michael Jordan and being signed to his company Brand Jordan

4…going undefeated on my Babe Ruth baseball league team and winning the championship

3…is between playing at 2 parties and not so much about how great the parties were but because of the numerous challenges and hurdles that the party hosts had overcome to achieve. The two parties are Orprah's 50th and Nelson Mandella's 80th birthday parties

2…is the first time I saw my body of work in a major store (it kinda tripped me out)

1…is the time when I was 7 years old and I went downstairs to the apartment that was vacant below ours and took some things that were not mine. My mother beat my A$$ and the beating that I got that day still stings to this day.

Now I have a little girl by the name of Michaella Phillips who has a ear that is out of this world! She sang on both of my records and is getting better and better! As a matter of fact, we just did our 1st gig together in April 2006 and she received a standing ovation. I can see many of the same qualities that I had as a child in her already. Whatever she decides to and to be, she will have my complete support and love.

Looking back on this, My Story, I know that my road and my path was different from most. I'm a high school grad who opted out of going to college. Coming out of high school, I was offered college scholarships to play both football and to play in the band. However, I chose to study at The University of Stevie Wonder and Prince and of all of the musicians throughout the years who have taken me under their wings allowing me to absorb and to learn. I have been blessed to come across so many people who just wanted to see me make it. I have had so much support and there are so many names that I can't even start to name everyone. But I also know that each day that I'm here on this earth I thank God for everything that I'm blessed with. My Story has some blank pages that I have to fill in and I'm looking forward to filling in the blanks as I live more of my life and my dream.
1:39 AM 
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Sunday, August 26, 2007 

Fully understanding and trusting Prince's musical and creative foresight, I knew that he was able to flip the script in Vegas! The last several months in Las Vegas have been an absolute blast! I have watched this show grow, these shows are musical experiences! Anyone who was lucky enough to attend a jam session back in the day with Dizzy, Traine, Bird, etc. would be able to effectively illustrate a picture of exactly what they experienced 40 years ago because of just that, the vivid experience. The experience begins the moment that you walk through the door; it must feel warm, welcoming, raising your expectations of atmosphere. And concerning the music, it must be something that you can feel, something that you feel that you can enjoy, bottle up, take it with you and enjoy for all eternity. Well, that it was has been accomplished in Las Vegas at 3121!

My experiences on the 3121 stage at the main show and in the Jazz Cuisine restaurant at the after shows have been absolutely amazing! The most amazing thing is that each night is different, a whole new and exciting experience! One night Shelby may deliver an electrifying soulful sound that shoots right through you! Then the very next night Renato will deliver a sick solo on the keys leaving you wondering just what planet this man is from allowing him to play like that! And to top it all off, Prince is there bringing it hard each and every night!

This experience puts me in an ideal position to use my gift to offer people a wonderful musical experience. At the same time I am given the opportunity to be surrounded by amazing musicians on stage with me blessing me with their gift of musicianship-wow!

Now that Prince and the 3121 movement has shown that what has taken place in Las Vegas can work, it would only be fair to take this bottled experience on the road and pop off the top sprinkling other cities with this live musical experience! So with that I say, stay tuned; what you may have missed in Vegas may be coming soon to your city or to a city near you-don't miss out!

10:36 PM 
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