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| February
21, 2005 |
This
month sees the launch of an exciting new musical project involving
Phil Hilfiker with a performance at the Espace Réverdy at
Université Paris X in Nanterre on Friday, February 25 (see
concert calendar for details): The group 'Tempo du Gecko' under the musical
leadership of Mauritian guitarist and composer Jean-François
Désiré provides a fresh look at Mauritian traditional
Sega (Mauritian Sega)
by incorporating elements of Jazz and Brazilian music. |
| May
30, 2004 |
Almost a year and a half after the last
news update (...what can I say?...), I am STILL alive and well in
Paris. The past year of
teaching at the American School of Music here in Paris has been a
full-time job and left little time for anything else (such as updating
this site...). But on to the actual news: After several recent guest appearances with the Paris-based funky jazz unit S. Mos Quintet (their first album entitled 'Play It Loud! was released earlier this month on Cristal Records), chances are that the 'quintet' will be turning into a 'sextet' on more than one occasion in the future. - Further information will be posted here as it becomes available. A new chapter in my ongoing collaboration with the electronica composer formerly known as boguss is in the works under the new pseudonym Bo Avenue. New material has already been recorded on several occasions in both Stockholm and Paris over the past year and you can currently check out some early mixes of two tracks on the new website for Bo Avenue. Finally, there'll be some 'homecoming' for me in the spring of 2005 as I was invited to spend a week working and performing with young musicians in Aarau, my home town in Switzerland, as part of the yearly JazzAar Concert Series. Well, that's the news for now. - 'Til next time! |
| January 16, 2003 | Wow, time just flies by when you
are busy
getting settled in a whole new environment! - - Nonetheless, I would
like
to take the opportunity to wish every visitor to this page a happy and
prosperous new year! Personally, I am alive and well in my new hometown Paris, where I am slowly but surely getting settled. I am teaching both private music lessons and as faculty member at the American School of Modern Music here in Paris. While my live appearances have been rather sparse since my move, new projects are in the works and I'll hopefully be able to put up a new concert calendar for 2003 shortly. |
| August 29, 2002 | After six years in Boston it is
time for
something new! - I am just days away from moving to Paris, France,
where
I'll be making a new home for myself, teach at a local music school,
and
hopefully find plenty of opportunities to play...! To everyone who has been helpful, inspiring, and supportive during my time in Boston: a big thank you to each and every one of you! - make sure to stay in touch! There will be one more chance to
catch
me live in Boston this coming Tuesday night, September 3. I will be
joining
forces with Boston's newest acoustic electronica act Amun
Ra at Emily's in downtown Boston (for details check
the
Amun Ra website). It would be great to see a couple familiar faces
there! |
| July 5, 2002 | To all my American friends: I
hope everyone
had a good time celebrating Independence Day! - The fireworks in Boston
with live soundtrack by the Boston Pops were delightful!
In other news: As you may have noticed, I finally got around to adding a page with some music samples (use the link in the navigation bar to get there). I will be adding new tracks soon - so make sure to return periodically too hear some new clips! Finally, on a more somber note, I
would
like to take the opportunity to offer my condolences to family and
friends
of the great bassist Ray Brown, who passed away two days ago. I
had the (in my case true 'once-in-a-lifetime') opportunity to meet the
man whom so many of us admired and respected, just a few months ago at
the University of New Hampshire Clark Terry Jazz Festival (see
alsonews
update from March 2002 below). - He will surely be missed! |
| May 26, 2002 | Cheredovanie to open for
legendary
Russian singer/songwriter Boris Grebenshikov.
On June 1, I will be performing
once again
with the Russian rock/pop group Cheredovanie in an extraordinary
musical
event. Cheredovanie has been chosen as the opening act for the
exclusive
Boston appearance of legendary Russian songwriter and lead-singer of
the
group Aquarium, Boris Grebenshikov. For details about the concert, see
my concert calendar, or visit the official
English website for Boris Grebenshikov and Aquarium! |
| April 20, 2002 | Another day spent in the
recording studio
with FIKUS earlier this month resulted in several additional tracks
that
will be included on the upcoming CD. The mixing is under way and we are
anxiously anticipating the results.
If you are in the mood for
something unusual,
make sure to come to the Linwood Bar in Boston tonight! I am performing
with a new act on the Boston scene: Cheredovanie. The
band
of talented Russian singer/songwriter Anastasia consists of several
musicians
usually associated with the band FIKUS: Misha Rutman on guitars, Az
Hirotsugu
on bass, Geoff Birt on drums, and myself on saxophones. Tonight's
performance
will be part of the Russian Rock Club series, recently started at the
Linwood
Bar. Besides Cheredovanie, three other groups, representing New York,
Chicago,
and Toronto, will be performing. (Consult the concert calendar for
details!) |
| March 3, 2002 | Well, as you can see I finally
got around
to posting some news again. - So what's new? - I just spent most of
last
Saturday in a recording studio in Brookline with my bandmates from FIKUS.
We laid down a bunch of original tracks, and we have another date lined
up to finish the work. So some time later this year, FIKUS might
actually
come out with their long-awaited first full-length CD. - I'll keep you
posted!
Also, if you haven't made it down
to The
Rack in Boston yet, where you can catch me with FIKUS every Tuesday
night, you'll get another couple of chances to see us this month! -
Come
on by! Finally, you're invited to join
me at the University
of New Hampshire in Durham this month - for a concert with the Bratton
Hall Jazz Band and for the annual Clark Terry Jazz Festival.
- Special guests this year are Clark Terrry and legendary bassist Ray
Brown!
(See the concert calendar and the UNH website for details.) |
| December 26, 2001 | With only a few days left in the
year
2001, I hope that your holidays were enjoyable and would like to wish
everyone
a happy new year!
2002 will bring lots of
opportunities to
catch me live with FIKUS at 'The Rack' in Boston. We'll be starting our
Tuesday night residency there in mid-January. Make sure to check out
the
concert calendar for details about shows at 'The
Rack' and at other venues. |
| November
24, 2001
|
I am delighted to
have this
new and hopefully more informative website up and running. As always,
any
comments are welcome (send me an email) and naturally there
will be some changes and additions to the site in
the future. I am hoping to see some of you at upcoming shows (make sure to check out the calendar)! Support live music! I and all the other performers out there depend on it! Phil Hilfiker |