Herbie Phillips
| Herbie Phillips | |
|---|---|
1964 Photo by trumpeter Kenny Bright
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Herbert Daly Phillips |
| Also known as | Herbie Phillips, Herb Phillips |
| Born |
April 20, 1935 Lincoln, NE, US |
| Died | September 13, 1995 (aged 60) Las Vegas, NV, US |
| Genres | big band jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, arranger |
| Instruments | trumpet |
| Associated acts | Las Vegas Hilton Orchestra, Louie Bellson, Buddy Morrow, Billy May |
Herbert Daly Phillips, better known as Herb or Herbie Phillips (April 20, 1935, Lincoln, Nebraska - September 13, 1995, Las Vegas, Nevada), was an American jazz trumpeter, big band composer, and arranger. He was prominent in the Las Vegas music community. He played trumpet in several notable big bands, including those of Louie Bellson, Buddy Morrow, and Billy May, but he is better known as the composer of pieces such as "Little Train," recorded several times by The Buddy Rich Big Band. Phillips worked as trumpeter and conductor for both Frank Sinatra and Frank Sinatra, Jr..
His mother, Evelyn Phillips (née Daly), a graduate of the University of Nebraska and a kindergarten teacher, died in 1949 when Phillips was 14. She had played a major role in introducing Herbie to the arts. Distraught over the loss, and as a teenager, Herbie did not did get along well with his father, Guy W. Phillips, especially when the latter remarried. Herbie moved in with his maternal aunt and uncle. Phillips' father, a salesman for the George F. Burt Company, died in Lincoln, Nebraska, when Herbie was 19.
Phillips graduated from Fremont High School in Fremont, Nebraska, in 1953 and attended the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, during the summer of 1954. After high school, he played trumpet in several territory bands, namely the Dick Mango Orchestra and the Verne Byers Orchestra, that were booked by the National Orchestra Service in Omaha. During Phillips's tour with his second group, the Verne Byers Orchestra, he met band member Pat Thompson, a trombonist, with whom he became close, life-long friends. While touring with Verne Byers, Phillips arranged a few songs, including "Pennies From Heaven."
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