Phil Hey

Phil Hey (born May 21, 1953) is an American jazz drummer. He has worked with Dewey Redman, Jay McShann, Mose Allison, Benny Carter, Charlie Rouse, Harold Land, Charlie Byrd, David "Fathead" Newman, Geoff Keezer, Mark Murphy, Benny Golson, Stacey Kent, and Kenny Barron.
Biography
Born in New York City, Hey grew up in Philadelphia and the St. Paul suburb of Roseville, Minnesota. He started his music study with mentor and legendary jazz drummer Ed Blackwell at the Creative Music Studio in New York in 1975. His relationship with Blackwell continued until Blackwell's death in 1992. He has also studied with Floyd Thompson and Marv Dahlgren, the former principal percussionist of the Minnesota Orchestra. He considers the Beatles and 1960s rock groups early music influences. He also credits his parents and his childhood band instructor for their support and encouragement in pursuing a music career.
Hey performs with several groups and leads the Phil Hey Quartet with Tom Lewis on bass, Dave Hagedorn on vibraphone, and Phil Aaron on piano. The quartet's album Subduction: Live at Artist's Quarter (2005) was named Best Jazz CD of the Year by the Twin Cities alternative weekly newspaper City Pages. City Pages also named him 2006 Jazz Musician of the Year.
His first album, Let Them All Come with Pat Moriarty, was released in 1977 on the small private label Min Records. The cover art by Homer Lambrecht is featured in Freedom, Rhythm, and Sound, a compilation of a jazz album artwork by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker. He has appeared on over 125 recordings and remains a first-call musician supporting regional recording artists as well as touring jazz artists. His jazz recordings include Von Freeman's Live at The Dakota, Pete Whitman's X-Tet Where's When?, Tom Hubbard's Tribute to Mingus, and Ed Berger's I'm Glad There is You, all of which received four out of five star ratings by Down Beat magazine reviewers.
In addition to his work as a jazz musician Hey has played regional performances with blues and rock acts, including Nick St. Nicholas, George "Mojo" Buford, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. He has appeared on the soundtrack of the 6th Day (2000) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and several independent film soundtracks including Been Rich All My Life (2006). In addition, he has played many touring theater productions, including The D.B. Cooper Project, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Irving Berlin's I Love a Piano and has performed with comics Bob Hope, Red Skelton, and Don Rickles.
Educator
Hey is a faculty member at the University of Minnesota School of Music where he teaches jazz percussion and directs the jazz ensemble. He is on the music faculty at St. Olaf College and the MacPhail Center for Music. He taught music at Macalester College from 1997 to 2008.
Equipment
Ellis Drum Shop released the Phil Hey Signature Kit, a limited edition six piece shell drum kit with maple shells in 2012.
Discography
As leader
1977 Let Them All Come, with Pat Moriarty
2005 Subduction Live at the Artist's Quarter
2009 Conflict!, with Kelly Rossum
As sideman
With Chris Bates
2014 Good Vibes Trio
With Ed Berger
1999 I'm Glad There Is You
With Terry Lee Burns
1997 Freehand
With Laura Caviani
1999 Angels We Haven't Heard
With the Cedar Avenue Big Band
2002 Land of 10,000 Licks
With Debbie Duncan
1993 Live at the Dakota
1995 It Must Be Christmas
2007 I Thought About You
With Dan Estrem and John Holmquist
1988 Bossa
1990 Meditation
With Connie Evingson
1998 I Have Dreamed
1999 Some Cats Know
2003 Let It Be Jazz Connie Evingson Sings the Beatles
2008 Little Did I Dream
2012 Sweet Happy Life
With Von Freeman
2001 Live at the Dakota
With Dave Hagedorn
2003 Vibes Solidliquid
With Glen Helgeson
1995 Spirit of the Wood
With Tom Hubbard
1989 Tribute to Mingus
With the JazzMN Orchestra
2000 JazzMN Big Band
With Gordon Johnson
2005 Trios Version 3.0
2008 GJ4
2010 Trios No. 5
With Dave Karr and Mulligan Stew
2004 Cookin' at the Hot Summer Jazz Festival
With Mary Louise Knutson
2001 Call Me When You Get There
2011 In the Bubble
With Chris Lomheim
2000 The Bridge
With the Minnesota Klezmer Band
1998 Bulka's Song
With David Mitchell
2000 Young Cats
With Lucia Newell
2004 Steeped in Strayhorn
With the O'Neill Brothers
2004 On Broadway with the O'Neill Brothers
With the Out to Lunch Quintet
2006 Live at the Artist's Quarter
With Preston Reed
1991 Halfway Home
With Rio Nido
1986 Voicings
With Claudia Schmidt
1991 Essential Tension
2012 Bend in the River Collected Songs
With Ted Unseth and the Americana Classic Jazz Orchestra
2007 20th Anniversary Concert with Benny Waters
With Benny Weinbeck
1998 Sweet Love
2011 Live at D'Amico Kitchen
With Pete Whitman
1998 Departure Point
2001 The Sound of Water
2003 Where's When?
With Steve Yeager
2003 New Groove Blues
Concert video
With Benny Weinbeck Trio
2011 – Benny Weinbeck Trio: Live at D'Amico Kitchen (DVD)
References
External links
Official Website
1953 births
Living people
American jazz bandleaders
American jazz drummers
American jazz educators
American session musicians
Bebop drummers
Hard bop drummers
Musicians from Minneapolis
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
Jazz musicians from Minnesota
Educators from Minnesota
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians