Phil Lee

b. 8 Apr 1943, London, Britain. Lee’s parents had been musical, but he’s a self-taught guitarist. He was an associate of the group that Ivor Mairants (electric guitar) had taken to the Antibes Jazz Celebration in the middle-60s, and caused the John Williams Big Music group. Lee first found prominence using the Graham Collier Septet. He became co-leader with Tony Coe (reeds) of Axel while freelancing with music artists like Henry Lowther, Michael Garrick and Jeff Clyne, and performed in and composed for the music group Paz produced by Dick Crouch (vibes) in 1972. Afterwards he toured with Michel Legrand’s Quartet (1979) and Gordon Beck’s non-et (1983). In 1991, Lee used Michael Garrick’s Big Music group in shows of Garrick’s collection ‘Hardy Nation’.