Joe McPhee

Joe McPhee (born November 3, 1939) is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who plays the tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, the trumpet, the flugelhorn and the valve trombone. Although born in Miami, Florida, McPhee grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York. He is most notable for his free jazz work done from the late 1960s to the present day.

Life and career McPhee was born in Miami, Florida, on November 3, 1939.

Jazz musicians with whom McPhee has recorded or performed include Ken Vandermark, Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Mats Gustafsson, Jeb Bishop, The Thing, Clifton Hyde, Jérôme Bourdellon, Raymond Boni, and Joe Giardullo. Since 1998, McPhee, Dominic Duval, and Jay Rosen have performed and recorded as Trio X.

McPhee has written reviews and commentary for Cadence.

Discography Underground Railroad (CjR, 1969) Nation Time (CjR, 1971) Black Magic Man (HatHut, 1971 ) At WBAI's Free Music Store, 1971 (HatHut, 1971 ) Trinity (CjR, 1972) with Harold E. Smith and Mike Kull Pieces of Light (CjR, 1974) with John Snyder The Willisau Concert (HatHut, 1976) featuring John Snyder and Makaya Ntshoko Tenor (HatHut, 1977) – rereleased as Tenor & Fallen Angels in 2000 Rotation (HatHut, 1976 ) Graphics (HatHut, 1977 ) Variations on a Blue Line (HatHut, 1977 ) Glasses (HatHut, 1977 ) MFG in Minnesota (HatHut, 1978) with Milo Fine and Steve Gnitka Old Eyes (HatHut, 1980) – rereleased as Old Eyes and Mysteries in 1992 Tales and Prophecies (HatHut, 1981) with André Jaume Topology (HatHut, 1981) Oleo (Hat Hut, 1982) – rereleased as Oleo & A Future Retrospective in 1993 Visitation (Sackville, 1985) with the Bill Smith Ensemble Songs and Dances (CELP, 1987) with André Jaume and Raymond Boni Linear B (Hat Hut, 1990) Élan • Impulse (In Situ, 1991) with Daunik Lazro Impressions of Jimmy Giuffre (CELP, 1992) The October Revolution (Evidence, 1994 ) with Rashied Ali, Borah Bergman, and Wilber Morris Sweet Freedom - Now What? (HatArt, 1995) with Lisle Ellis and Paul Plimley McPhee/Parker/Lazro (Vand'Oeuvre, 1995 ) with Evan Parker and Daunik Lazro Common Threads (Deep Listening, 1995) A Meeting in Chicago (Eighth Day Music, 1996 ) with Ken Vandermark and Kent Kessler As Serious As Your Life (Hat Hut, 1996) Legend Street One (CIMP, 1996) Legend Street Two (CIMP, 1996) Inside Out (CIMP, 1996) with David Prentice Finger Wrigglers (CIMP, 1996) with Michael Bisio Specific Gravity (Boxholder, 1997 ) with Joe Giardullo The Brass City (Okka Disk, 1997 ) with Jeb Bishop Chicago Tenor Duets (Okka Disk, 1998 ) with Evan Parker Zebulon (CIMP, 1998 ) with Michael Bisio The Dream Book (Cadence Jazz, 1998 ) with Dominic Duval Soprano (Roaratorio, 1998 [2007) In the Spirit (CIMP, 1999) No Greater Love (CIMP, 1999 ) Emancipation Proclamation: A Real Statement of Freedom (Okka Disk, 1999 ) with Hamid Drake Grand Marquis (Boxholder, 1999) with Johnny McLellan Manhattan Tango (Label Usine, 2000 ) with Jérôme Bourdellon Port of Saints (CjR, 2000 ) with Michael Bisio, Raymond Boni and Dominic Duval Voices & Dreams (Emouvance, 2000 ) with Raymond Boni Angels, Devils & Haints (CjR, 2000 ) with Michael Bisio, Dominic Duval, Claude Tchamitian and Paul Rogers Mister Peabody Goes to Baltimore (Recorded, 2000 ) Remembrance (CjR, 2001 ) with Michael Bisio, Raymond Boni and Paul Harding Tales Out of Time (Hat Hut, 2002 ) with Peter Brötzmann A Parallax View (Slam, 2003 ) with Paul Hession Between (Ohrai, 2003) with Sato Makoto Everything Happens for a Reason (Roaratorio, 2003 ) In Finland (Cadence Jazz, 2004 ) with Matthew Shipp and Dominic Duval Next To You (Emouvance, 2004 ) with Raymond Boni, Daunik Lazro and Claude Tchamitchian Guts (Okkadisk, 2005) with Peter Brötzmann, Kent Kessler and Michael Zerang The Open Door (CIMPoL, 2006) with Dominic Duval Voices: 10 Improvisations (Mode, 2006 ) with John Heward Red Morocco (2006) Tomorrow Came Today (Smalltown Superjazz, 2007) with Paal Nilssen-Love Two Bands and a Legend (Smalltown Superjazz, 2007), with Cato Salsa Experience and The Thing Alto (Roaratorio, 2009) Magic (Not Two, 2009) with Mikołaj Trzaska, Dominic Duval and Jay Rosen The Damage Is Done (Not Two, 2009) with Peter Brötzmann, Kent Kessler and Michael Zerang Blue Chicago Blues (Not Two, 2010) with Ingebrigt Håker Flaten Creole Gardens (A New Orleans Suite) (NoBusiness, 2011) with Michael Zerang Brooklyn DNA (Clean Feed, 2012) with Ingebrigt Håker Flaten What/If/They Both Could Fly (Rune Grammofon, 2012) with Evan Parker Ithaca (8mm Records, 2012) with Eli Keszler Red Sky (PNL, 2013) with Paal Nilssen-Love Sonic Elements (Clean Feed, 2013) Tree Dancing (Otoroku, 2019) with Chris Corsano, Lol Coxhill and Evan Parker Echoes (Rune Grammofon, 2023) with Fire! Orchestra I'm Just Say'n (Smalltown Supersound / Le Jazz Non, 2025)

With Trio X Rapture (Cadence Jazz, 1999) The Watermelon Suite (CIMP, 1999) On Tour (Cadence Jazz, 2001) In Black and White (Cadence Jazz, 2002) Journey (CIMP, 2003) The Sugar Hill Suite (CIMP, 2004) Moods: Playing with the Elements (CIMP, 2005) Roulette at Location One (Cadence Jazz, 2005) Air: Above and Beyond (CIMPol, 2006) 2006 U.S. Tour (CIMPol, 2007) Live in Vilnius (NoBusiness, 2008) Live On Tour 2008 (CIMPol, 2010) Live On Tour 2010 (CIMPol, 2012)

With Survival Unit III Don’t Postpone Joy! (Rai Trade, 2006) Syncronicity] (Harmonic Convergence, 2011) Game Theory (Not Two Records, 2013) Barrow Street Blues (Holidays Records, 2015) Straylight (Pink Palace, 2015) Straylight (Live at Jazzhouse Copenhagen) (Astral Spirits, Monofonus Records, 2015)

Compilations A Future Retospective (Hat Hut, 1983) – compiles Old Eyes and Oleo Nation Time: The Complete Recordings (1969-70) (Corbett vs Dempsy, 2013) – Compiles Nation Times and Black Magic Man with 2 CDs of unreleased live recordings The CjR Years (Bo'Weevil, 2014) – 4LP Box Set compiles Underground Railroad, Nation Time, Trinity and Pieces of Light

As sideman With Peter Brötzmann The Chicago Octet/Tentet (Okka Disc, 1998) American Landscapes 1 (Okka Disc, 2007) American Landscapes 2 (Okka Disc, 2007) 3 Nights in Oslo (Smalltown Superjazzz, 2010) With Roy Campbell, William Parker & Warren Smith Tribute to Albert Ayler Live at the Dynamo (Marge Records, 2009) With the C. T. String Quartet Reqiphoenix Nexus (Cadence Jazz, 1999 ) With Dominic Duval Live in Concert (Cadence Jazz, 1999) Cries and Whispers (Cadence Jazz, 1999 ) Undersound (Leo, 2000) Undersound II (Leo, 2003) Rules Of Engagement, Vol. 2 (Drimala, 2004) With Joe Fonda Heat Suite (Konnex, 2003) With Joe Giardullo Shadow & Light (Drimala, 2002) With Jimmy Giuffre and André Jaume River Station (CELP, 1993) With Raphe Malik Sympathy (Boxholder, 2002) with Donald Robinson With Mat Maneri Sustain (Thirsty Ear, 2002) With the Nihilist Spasm Band No Borders (Non Musica Rex, 2001) With Evan Parker The Redwood Session (CIMP, 1995) With Jamie Saft Ticonderoga (Clean Feed, 2015) With Clifford Thornton Freedom & Unity (Third World Records, 1967) With The Thing She Knows... (Crazy Wisdom, 2001)