It all started back in Newton New Jersey in a small farming community of about 5000 people. "Dad played a little bit on the trumpet and Mom, who had a good ear, sang along with the radio."

The musical side of things started very early when Bob was given a plastic flute. By age seven he was asking for piano lessons. Soon a teacher was located and an upright piano was hefted into his second story bedroom. At about age 12 he was given a trumpet, but didn't like the metal mouthpiece. He very soon moved onto the saxophone and clarinet which he played throughout high school, earning money at local gigs for dances, clambakes, barn raisings etc.

By age seventeen he knew that music was to be his career and he needed to nurture a burgeoning interest in jazz. In Newton, New Jersey he could get any advice he needed on farming but zip about jazz so he packed his bags and headed off to the Big Apple.

Even then, New York prices were crazy and a small apartment with a bathtub in the kitchen was more than he could afford. He was just about to pack up his suitcase and head home when he got a call from the Musicians' Union. Bob was on his way, playing piano with a five piece traveling band.

A year later he was a little older, a little wiser and a little richer. A friend offered him his first N.Y. gig at the Heat Wave Club in Greenwich Village. So now Bob was playing from Midnight to 3 am and then studying at the Manhattan School of Music at 9 in the morning.

"New York is hard to sum up," says Bob. "But there's a variety of experience there which can't be equaled anywhere else. Some of my experiences include the Catskills, Playboy Club, Broadway (Promises, Promises), Waldorf Astoria, Birdland and other jazz clubs. I think that is my summation of why I still enjoy doing what I do. Because I've covered a lot of areas, I never get bored. A typical week right now might start on Sunday with music at the church, followed by an afternoon at the Big Sur River Inn playing Dixieland. Or, I might be playing a wedding, a corporate event or a once monthly jam session at the Hyatt."

Twenty odd years ago Bob came to visit a wonderful friend and musician, Buddy Jones and his wife, Lynn who were living in Cachagua above Carmel Valley. The magic hit. Within two weeks Bob was living on a 350 acre guest ranch with a piano in the barn. Jobs kept coming and it was seven years before he went back East to get his belongings out of storage.

One night he met Margo. She liked him an awful lot, but put him on probation just to be sure...for eleven years. I guess he passed the test because they got married in 1989.

"I think I'd like to talk about the diversity that I have available through the church. The feeling of playing in Bill's church is so unlike playing any other performance situation. It’s a place where you know you don’t have to be doing anything for effect, or to win over the audience, or keep their attention or to razzle-dazzle. It's a place where you just share something on the same level as the people your sharing with. Another thing is the opportunity to stage Jazz From The Heart. It becomes my canvas, so to speak...of painting a picture of singers, performers and musicians which, when blended together, satisfies my criteria for an entertaining evening. I feel very privileged to do such a thing because the musicians love it, the people love it and it’s a win win, situation.

I think it's idyllic here. Along with the natural beauty I think there are more good musicians and more lovers of good music per capita. We have choral groups, chamber music societies, theater and a symphony. We have our own Monterey Jazz Festival which is the longest running in the world and the Dixieland Festival is certainly one of the premier Dixie and Swing Festivals in the country.

My wife, Margo, is my biggest supporter and most astute critic… not necessarily in that order. It's a gift to have someone so in tune with my inner workings."

Bob Phillips
P.O. Box 5273
Carmel. CA 93921
831-625-1850
pianobobp@hotmail.com