The musicianship of Philippe Vieux has touched and impressed audiences and peers worldwide for over four decades, while spanning five continents. A native of San Francisco: he is a composer/producer, multi award winning recording artist and educator.
Starting on piano at the age of three, Philippe diligently studied music; expanding into theoretical harmony and experimentation in composition and arrangement. By 1990, Vieux had truly found his own voice and begun to win the respect of his musical elders. While still in high school, he placed a concentration on the saxophone and began studying composition, while simultaneously staying active by playing in orchestras and jazz groups.
In the fall on 1992, Vieux made his first major film appearance as a fan chasing the limousine of Whitney Houston in the film “The Body Guard”. Just previously in the fall of 1991, Vieux had just received what he would describe as his BIG BREAK………….
Joining the Tootle Heath Quintet on Tenor & Soprano saxophone in the Fall of 1991 at the tender age of 19. Usually when mentioning this to fans they are thrown a curve, in which they should then Google �the Heath Bros.� Soon to follow associations with Papa Juno Bernard Lewis, the inimitable Billy Higgins, and legendary Cedar Walton opened the doors to what has become an amazing career of seemingly impossible accomplishments.
In 1993, Vieux joined the Los Angeles based jazz group, Black Note. During his time with Black Note, he recorded two albums with Columbia Records and Red Records (based in Rome, Italy) and appeared in a major motion picture, "Higher Learning", a John Singleton Film.
In 1994, Vieux left the group and responded to invitations to play with legendary jazz greats Albert “Tootie” Heath, Billy Higgins, Cedar Walton, Horace Tapscott, the Taumbu International Ensemble, and the legendary conguero Francisco Aguabella. During this period Vieux worked steadily with the groups of jazz legends Dr. Art Davis, Gerald Wilson and the late, great Kenny Kirkland.
While keeping busy performing and recording with all of these phenomenal artists, Vieux formed his own quartet and recorded his debut release on Billy Higgins’ label World Stage Records. The record "Point of Vieux" was released in 1995 and enjoyed wide success in the United States and Europe.
January of ‘96 Vieux received a phone call late one night from the management of Ray Charles. The outcome of the conversation was a temporary employment as the Big Band was booked on a tour of Russia, Poland and the Ukraine, but lacked a lead alto player. Vieux filled in on first saxophone playing Alto & Soprano Saxophones, Clarinet, Flute & Piccolo. Cities on the tour included Vladivostok, Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev.
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In March of 1996, Vieux went on to join the septet of Horace Silver. The septet made a six-month tour of the United States, Canada and Europe while completing many fantastic live recordings.
Just prior to the band’s departure in February Vieux was substituting for Ralph Moore in the Cedar Walton sextet with Vincent Herring, Philip Harper, Marvin Smith and Bob Hurst. That week he received an offer from Ray Charles to join as his lead-alto player. Preferring to play jazz Vieux went out on an 11-day tour of Eastern Europe playing Alto, Soprano, Clarinet, Flute and Piccolo with Ray; then returned to fulfill his contract with Mr. Silver.
While on tour, a special and unexpected audience member recognized his
strong ability and knowledge in both jazz and afro-latin music and offered him a job. Vieux accepted Eddie Palmieri's offer and joined the Eddie Palmieri Orchestra at the close of 1996.
Vieux last recorded with Mr. Palmieri in March 2000 in collaboration with the late Tito Puente. Vieux played lead alto on "Obra Maestra/Masterpiece," which won the Grammy for best salsa album of 2000. Other recordings while a member of the Palmieri Orchestra include Grammy nominated "El Rumbero del Piano", and "Quetzalcoatl", a ballet commissioned by the Balet Folklorico de Puerto Rico.
Basing himself out of New York City, Vieux recorded and arranged music, working with many music legends including Patato Valdez, Max Roach and Don Alias. In addition to completing numerous arrangement and transcription projects, he also composed hundreds of original works. Some of those compositions will appear on albums, soon to be released; recorded with Don Alias and Patato Valdes. Most notably, Vieux appeared in the saxophone section of the Chico O’Farrell Orchestra in the recent remake of “The Thomas Crowne Affair”.
In April of 2000 Vieux relocated to Austin, Texas. He appeared as a special guest with Bonnie Raitt on a taped episode of Austin City Limits; which first aired on October 5th, 2002 and is periodically rebroadcast on PBS. Shortly after his arrival he joined the pioneering jazz-fusion group Blaze. Vieux also led his own jazz quartet, and became a member of the Ephraim Owens Quintet in Austin.
The accomplishment of which he is the most proud is the release of the album �El Hombre� by legendary Cuban Conga Master Patato Valdez. On this
recent PM Records release Vieux is the featured composer and demonstrates his mastery of the clarinet, flute and saxophone families.
As chance would have it Vieux was contracted to play with the legendary Rhythm & Blues group the Temptations. On the 11th and 12th of March 2006 Vieux had the honor of performing and recording with none other than Erykah Badu at Butterfly Studios in Dallas Texas. Some of the footage from a concert with Ms. Badu recorded at Austin Music Hall the week before the recording session will be incorporated in a film to be released.
On the 1st of July 2006, Vieux released his second studio album as a leader; entitled A Room with A Vieux. This endeavor highlighted Vieux’s talents as a composer and woodwind master. The music does an excellent job of fusing jazz, latin, funk and hip-hop. For the first time Vieux is featured on five saxophones including the Bass. In addition, on the 9th of September the fusion super group Blaze released its fourth album Night Sangin’ which featured Vieux on Tenor and Baritone saxophones alongside his close cohort: trumpeter Ephraim Owens; who is also featured on A Room With A Vieux.
Vieux had the pleasure of being part of possibly the largest live production in Austin history. On the 20th of May 2007 legendary singer/songwriter Stephen Bruton hosted an all-star event entitled �The Road to Austin�. The stage incorporated was a seven story multi-screen tower, which had been purchased by a production company in Austin to host a live performance by the Rolling Stones earlier in the year. He played a major role in the pre-production process led by legendary producer/director Ken Kirschner. Production responsibilities included transcriptions of many classic pop tunes that had never been written down before; as well as 30 original orchestrations for
the 22-piece stage band, which backed such legendary artists as Bruton himself, Bonnie Raitt & Kris Kristopherson.
In December of 2007 Vieux was commissioned by the California State Commission for the Creative Arts to adapt his own transcription of an a capella recording from an obscure Oak Ridge Boys recording of �The Olde Country Church� for full philharmonic orchestra and men’s chorus. An extended work which Vieux calls �700 hours of my best work�. Vieux spent Late 2007 and early 2008 creating the chorale and symphony while playing jazz around San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley with the likes of the Mark Shelby Jazz Orchestra.
Upon leaving San Francisco in May of 2008 Vieux paid a visit to his cousin Stephen Brutus in Las Vegas. For one week they locked themselves in the studio to record an EP containing Tracks set up by Stephen for Philippe to riff over while Stephen sat behind the mixing boards. What they created was a new unique blend of jazz, hip-hop, R&B, Caribbean dance, and orchestral music.
Shortly thereafter Vieux spent his first week back in San Antonio with the Brandon Rivas Quintet at Delores Del Rio for one week. The next week was with the Jason Marsalis Quintet. Then, the Brennan Temple Quartet for two weeks; followed by the Ephraim Owens Quintet for three weeks. Vieux soon after assembled a trio and began playing at wineries all over the State of Texas. He then met Physicist and Pianist David Chao and was a member of David’s quintet from July 2008 until February 2011. By April of 2009 Vieux had teamed up with bassist/composer Aaron Allen and began playing a long-standing gig at Zax Pints & Pubs in Austin that continued every Wednesday until February 2011.
On February 1, 2011 Vieux departed for Mexico to perform in the city of Veracruz at the Hotel Villa Del Mar, Fracc Ignacio Zaragoza. There he joined his friends: drummer Enrique Valdes, conguero Ruben de la Fey, bassist Gilberto Rodriguez and pianist Jorge Santiago (all Cubans) to play a three month stint six nights a week in the Buena Vista Lounge. The group’s repertoire was centered around adapting the music of Charlie Parker, Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk to Cuban Dance Rhythms. It was an immense success.
On May 7, 2011 Vieux returned to the United States relocating to Chicago. Soon thereafter he began to appear at the Sunday Night Jam Session at Andy’s performing with the John Bany All-Stars featuring drummer Charlie Brown, pianist/guitarist Rob Block and Bass Trumpeter Ryan Schultz.
Upon visiting Chicago while teaching a clinic at Notre Dame in August of 2010 Vieux had met a young energetic drummer named Isaiah Spencer. Isaiah had invited him to come out to Andy’s to sit in with his quintet including trumpeter Marquis Hill. The chemistry was natural and instant. It was Isaiah who had introduced Philippe to the elder John Bany (then 70 years old) who had himself toured with Tommy Dorsey in the late 1950’s.
Soon thereafter Marquis introduced Vieux to Charles Heath and Robert Irving III (former musical director for the last great Miles Davis band). A series of Robert’s gigs produced a new quintet featuring Wallace Roney on trumpet, Vieux on alto, Charles Heath on drums and Junius on bass. This band really had an immensely focused and powerful sound. It was definitely the pinnacle musically of 2012 artistically speaking.
Once again Vieux had the opportunity to return to the Caribbean, this time as a leader of his trio featuring the talents of Antoine Fatout on drums and Sebastian Barahonna on the bass. From November 3, 2012 until January 17, 2013 they played week long stints in the cities of Miami, Key West, Havanna, Santiago de Cuba, Santo Domingo, San Herman Puerto Rico, Vieques Puerto Rico, Culebra Puerto Rico, Fort-de-France Martinique, Point-a-Pitre Guadeloupe, St. Martin, Veracruz Mexico.
Soon after the group was expanded to a seven piece, and began to tour throughout the Northwest and Alaska until the end of November 2013. The septet would perform week-long stints in Seattle Washington, Vancouver British Columbia, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Whittier & Anchorage Alaska.
From January 2014 until April 2014 the septet was in Hawaii performing in
hotels such as the Hyatt Resort in Honolulu, Lahaina, & Nawiliwili. Other week-long stints included performances in Kona & Hilo.
In the middle of April 2014 Vieux was presented a unique opportunity to record a masterwork by his good friend Clint Edwards who was an associate producer at Todd AO Studios in Los Angeles at the time. So he expanded an old recording featuring the talents of Cedar Walton, Billy Higgins and Jeff Littleton. He orchestrated parts for piccolo, four flutes, four clarinets, two bass clarinets, string quintet, and two French horns to be overdubbed and reinforce the work that had been created twenty years earlier in a live quartet session of the Cedar Walton Quartet. The finished product was tremendously powerful.
Two months later in June 2014 the Philippe Vieux Septet returned to the northwest to perform in hotels jazz for ballroom dance in weeklong presentations in Oregon, Washington, Alaska and British Columbia� The tour lasted until the end of
November 2014.
After a long and much needed vacation the band went back on the road to present Jazz for Ballroom in Europe at hotels around the Mediterranean in Madrid, Barcelona, Nice, Marseilles, Toulon, Genoa, Florence, Rome, Naples, Messina, Valletta, Athens, Mykonos, Volos, Santorini, Kusadasi and Istanbul. The band was in Europe performing in lavish settings from February through October 2015.
Then Vieux returned to the studio this time to record an album of solo piano work and duos with guitarist Emile Por�e featuring Vieux on Alto, Clarinet and Flute.
The albums present a variety of both original music and jazz standards.
Just after recording the septet once again hit the road to travel to Australia and New Zealand to perform in Sydney, Hobart, Dunedin, Akaroa, Picton, Napier, Tauranga & Auckland from November 2015 through January 2016.
Soon following the band returned to the Caribbean to play in hotels in Montego Bay & Ocho Rios Jamaica, Grand Bahama, Grand Cayman, Grand Turk, Barbados, Cura�ao, Marigot, Orangestaad Aruba, St. Thomas, Mazatl�n, Panama City from January 2016 through May 2016.
After a long break the band has recently returned to the northwest to perform all over British Columbia (Vancouver, Victoria & Nanaimo), Alaska (Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Whittier & Anchorage), Washington (Seattle, Tacoma), Oregon (Portland, Astoria), California (San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Catalina, Los Angeles & San Diego) and Baja Mexico (Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Loreto, Manzanillo & Puerto Vallarta) at hotels such as
Awards
1992 The Bodyguard Warner Bros. Pictures
1995 Higher Learning Sony Pictures
1998 Eddie Palmieri El Rumbero del Piano Rmm RMM 126496
1999 The Thomas Crown Affair United Artists
2000 Puente & Palmieri Obra Maestra Rmm RMM 284033
2004 Patato Valdes El Hombre PM Records 804865112
Gear
12 / 22 / 95
Sage and Sound Recording Studio
Horace Tapscott Septet
HT, p; Phil Vieux, bcl; Michael Session, saxes; Bobby Bradford, c; Thurman Green, tb; Roberto Miranda, b; Fritz Wise, d
Compositions: Eye of the Storm, Maud’s Mood
12 / 23 / 95
Sage and Sound Recording Studio (next and last session on 3 / 9 / 96)
Horace Tapscott Octet
HT, p; Phil Vieux, bcl; Michael Session, saxes; Bobby Bradford, c; Thurman Green, tb; William Roper, tuba; Roberto Miranda, b; Fritz Wise, d
Composition: Voices from the Bottom
Horace Tapscott Nonet
HT, p; Phil Vieux, bcl; Michael Session, saxes; Bobby Bradford, c; Thurman Green, tb; William Roper, tuba; Roberto Miranda, b; Fritz Wise, d; Dwight Trible, voc.
Compositions: The Creator’s Musician, Little Africa, Motherless Child
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