Discography

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Notebook review by Jo Freya
Roots Magazine (Spring 2019 - No 424)

This is a delightful instrumental album by cellist and composer Barry Phillips. Nine of the tracks are self-composed and six are traditional. Across the CD Barry is joined by twelve other musicians playing other instruments such as nyckelharpa, tabla, and harpsichord, but the predominant flavor is stringed.
This is a listening album and by that I mean that it draws you into the different layers, making you want to immerse yourself in them and follow the intricacies of the arrangements. I love the fact that there is definitely a Swedish flavor whilst the pieces have come about through his travels in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, India, California, and the people he has met along the way.
The artwork is simple but the packaging is quality. The sleeve notes really add to this CD because they give you a flavor of the man himself, what he was working on at the time, where he was and how the tunes came about. In that sense it reads, or sounds, like a notebook, so the title is perfect.

Notebook review
Darol Anger
... I finally had a chance to sit down and listen to this recording, and it is.....GREAT. I don't say that lightly. Anybody who is interested in current acoustic string music will find a lot to love and a lot to explore... bears MANY repeated listenings. Barry Phillips really did something great with this truly international State-of-the-art album. Thanks! this is the kind of thing that makes my job feel necessary.

RAGA & RAJ (on East Meets West Music)
Music for baroque instruments by Barry Phillips, Lou Harrison and William Bird - all east/west cross-overs.
BARRY PHILLIPS, LINDA BURMAN-HALL, LUX MUSICA ENSEMBLE | RAGA & RAJ
(UTSAV SERIES) | CD - EMWM1011

Celebrating Ravi Shankar's life and musical legacy of East-meets-West cultural exchange, Barry Phillips, Linda Burman-Hall and Lux Musica Ensemble (with guest Debopriyo Sarkar) present a selection of daring, experimental compositions that reflect and re-imagine the musical encounters between North India and British traditions encountered during the late 1780s. Featuring compositions by Lou Harrison, William Hamilton Bird, and Vishnu Digambar Paluskar arranged by Phillips and Burman-Hall, and an original composition by Phillips, the music of Raga & Raj is built on the affinities and attractions between North Indian and British musical traditions as they encountered each other in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Raga & Raj reinterprets the music of that intriguing historical moment, illuminating for us the triumphs and challenges of this type of cross-cultural exchange and reminding us of Ravi Shankar’s musical mission and life’s work: Peace through Music.'

Solo-ish Recordings ...

SUMMER of CELLO Barry Phillips (2011) BPM-050

Thirteen tunes form the 60's for cello ensemble. These songs have stuck with me since they were new and I'm always amazed how inventive so much of the music of the 60's is. I did my best to play these like a band would, not a classical ensemble. On the other hand, the overall sound it that of a live ensemble performance with very little effects added (occasionally a little echo or compression).

Happenings Ten Years Time Ago - Incense and Peppermints - Rope Ladder To The Moon - Laléna - Ruby Tuesday - Sunshine Of Your Love - Hello Goodbye - Surf's Up - Tomorrow Never Knows / Rain - Voodoo Chile - Within You Without You - Woodstock - People Get Ready

"I love this album! It's energetic, beautiful, and also a bit tongue-in-cheek, with Barry playing with just as much "distortion" (in this case created with his bow) as Hendrix would. The thing that separates Barry Phillips from other cellists/string arrangers covering pop music is that he's a cellist with a truly broad spectrum of experience, from folk music to rock to Western and Indian classical traditions, so he's coming at this music from many different angles that inform the playing, the voicing, everything. Yet it's very laid-back and in no way pretentious. His approach is just so natural - it's obvious on these tracks that his love of 60's psychedelia is just as part of his musical upbringing as his classical conservatory training, if not more so. While, in my personal experience, most classical takes on pop music seem a bit too novel and almost cheesy - as if the musicians are peering into an alien world they are fascinated by, but don't quite understand - "Summer of Cello" is an entirely different animal. These cellos know how to rock."
(iTunes review)

Bandcamp

TRÅD. Barry Phillips (2005) BPCD 049

Scandinavian and original music for cello, nyckelharpa, fiddle, (& more)

featuring:
Olov Johansson - nyckelharpa
Olof Göthlin - fiddle
Barry Phillips - cello, pipe organ & percussion

All tunes trad unless noted:

Polska från Glava - Fossegrimhallingen - Bisonpolska (Olov Johansson) - Trogdorpolska (Barry Phillips) - Vallåt från Lima - Farmors brudpolska - Seljefløyel slåtten - Rondopolska (Barry Phillips) - Huldreslåtten) -
Byss-Calle's ridmarsch - Bellåt - Hurvan e. Johan Hollester - Fanitullen - Polska e. Blinda Pelle - Gelottes g-moll polska - Björndansen e. Olof Tillman - Bjernulf's bröllopspolska (Olov Johansson)

"To me this music reaches way up the scale in its quality of performance & in originality of sound & how I feel listening to it. Barry Phillips is a bit daring to follow his own creative path within & between many musical traditions that can be sensed in his music. It is simply beautiful."

-George Berreman (CdBaby review)

Bandcamp

CELLO Barry Phillips (2000)

Instrumental tunes & airs from Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, England, Spain, American Shakers.

Guest musicians: Shelley Phillips, Martin Simpson, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Todd Phillips, Bickram Ghosh, Chris Caswell, Shira Kammen, Theo Page, Neal Hellman, Jared White, Lars Johanesson, Harris Moore and Karuna Ault.

Bràigh Loch Iall - Aoibhneas Éilís Ní Cheallaigh - Lochaber No More - Old Heddon Of Fawsley - O Ho The Pretty Chain - Gycklarpolskan av Peter Erson - Cantiga de Santa María #206 - Trotto - Caoineadh an Spailpín - I Love to See the Wheels in Motion - Shto Mi E Milo - Ladom Se, Goro Zalade - Polska efter Pelle Fors - Thugamar Féin an Samhradh Linn - Inis Oírr.

"The type of music that lures you into it from the beginning. Inspired and alive cello music. Definitely a must for lovers of cello and celtic/world music." Peacelily (CdBaby review)

APPLE MUSIC

Ravi Shankar recordings ...

SHANKARAGAMALA - students of Ravi Shankar 3-CD set (2000)

A stunning 3-cd tribute in honor of Ravi Shankar's 80th birthday performed by several of Ravi Shankar's top disciples including Anoushka Shankar, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Lakshmi Shankar. Extensive liner notes.

Performers include Anoushka Shankar, Lakshmi Shankar, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and many others, performing short versions of ragas created by Ravi Shankar. The final raga is Tilak Shyam performed by Barry, Anoushka, Shelley Phillips (harp) and Bickram Ghosh (tabla).

Performed by several of Ravi Shankar's top disciples, including Anoushka Shankar, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Lakshmi Shankar, "ShankaRagamala" presents a 3-CD tribute to the one and only Ravi Shankar, arguably the most influential Indian artist in the West, not to mention beyond. In honor of Shakar's 80th birthday, this extensive collection delves deeply into the Indian classical tradition, making one of the most notable, comprehensive packages available. This is not only a collector's item but a hearty contribution and genuinely rich and musically-nourishing project. (CdBaby staff review)

This 3-cd set was produced by Barry Phillips under the direction of Ravi Shankar.

Nine Decades Vol 2 - iTunes

NINE DECADES VOL 2

This is a stunningly wonderful house concert given by Ravi Shankar and Alla Rakha in LA just one week after Woodstock (audience present were all 4 Beatles, Peter Sellers and many others). I had the pleasure of restoring this recording for the cd.

http://eastmeetswestmusic.myshopify.com/

NINE DECADES VOL 3

The orchestra at AIR was an experiment lab for Ravi Shankar. Here are 10 pieces he composed and recorded with that orchestra. The recordings were in very bad shape, but I had the pleasure of restoring these recordings for the cd.

http://eastmeetswestmusic.myshopify.com/

Nine Decades Vol 3 - iTunes

The Living Room Sessions Part 1

at East Meets West Music

RUMI - Coleman Barks w/ Barry & Shelley ...

RUMI - Five Things to Say

Coleman Barks reads Rumi with music by Barry and Shelley for their second cd all together.. A fine studio recording.

link soon

RUMI - What Was Said to the Rose

Coleman Barks reads Rumi with music by Barry and Shelley. A fine studio recording.

Gourd Music recordings ...

Colonial Christmas (2009)
Barry Phillips & Friends
Music of Colonial America

The World Turned Upside Down (1992)
Barry Phillips & Friends
Music of Colonial America

Wondrous Love (1992)
Barry & Shelley Phillips
Instrumental versions of shape note tunes.

Simple Gifts Collection
(box set of 3 cds)

William Coulter and Barry Phillips
Three CD set including Simple Gifts, Tree of Life, and Music on the Mountain.

Music on the Mountain (1996)
William Coulter & Barry Phillips ... Music of the Shakers Volume 3.

Tree of Life (1993)
William Coulter & Barry Phillips ... Music of the Shakers Volume 2.

Simple Gifts (1990)
William Coulter & Barry Phillips ... Music of the Shakers Volume 1.

Barry as a guest artist (selected chronological discography) ...

Sarah-Jane Summers - Nesta (2007)

Sara-Jane Summers: Hardanger fiddle, fiddle
Ewan MacPherson: 6 & 12 string guitars and Jew's harp
Kevin McGuire: double bass
Barry Phillips: 5-string cello
Paul Jennings: percussion
Liz Knowles: fiddle (tr9)
Guy Veale: Tibetan singing bow

Camel - Harbour of Tears (2006)

CAMEL Harbour of Tears

Anoushka Shankar
Live at Carnegie Hall (2000)

Recorded live at Carnegie Hall 2000.

Anoushka Shankar - sitar
Bikram Ghosh & Tanmoy Bose - tablas
Ajay Sharma, Kenji Ota, Nick Able & Barry Phillips - tanpuras

The Bright Field (1995)
Paul Machlis

Paul Machlis (piano, keyboards) Alasdair Fraser (violin, viola)
Barry Philips (cello) William Coulter (guitar)

Wintersuite - Buchanan Mist - The Promenade - Dancing Boots - The Selkie - The Early Morn - Shetland Air - Éamonn á Chnuic - Along the Western Shore - Pennan Den - The Bright Field

Marya Stark - The Garden (2012)

An Explosive new cd by Marya - many big string arrangements - big group arrangements - great songs. (Can you tell I like it?)