Phil Moore (jazz musician)

Phil Moore (February 20, 1918 – May 13, 1987) was an American jazz pianist, orchestral arranger, band leader, and recording artist.

Phil Moore was orphaned and placed in a county hospital in Portland, Oregon. He attended the Cornish School and the University of Washington in Seattle. When Moore was 13, he played piano at speakeasies and small venues in Portland. Later, he supported Lena Horne, Frank Sinatra,Bobby Short, Marshal Royal, Irving Ashby,Julie Wilson, Gene Sedric,Les Hite, and Helen Gallagher. He arranged big-band music for the Tommy Dorsey and Harry James orchestras.

In 1946, he played the role of a band leader in a short B movie, Stars on Parade. About this time, his relationship with Dorothy Dandridge helped bring her success in a nightclub singing career. Moore served as vocal coach for other performers in Hollywood, including Marilyn Monroe.

Phil Moore worked at MGM and Paramount studios as an arranger. He worked on scores for over 30 films, although rarely receiving screen credit, presumably due to his race. These included Ziegfeld Girl, Dumbo, Three Cheers for the Boys, Panama Hattie, Presenting Lily Mars, Cabin in the Sky, the 1944 production of Kismet, and This Gun for Hire.

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