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Organist
Sonny Phillips was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1936 to a musical family, but did not begin his jazz education until the age of 23, when he began studying with
Ahmad Jamal. The music of
Jimmy Smith inspired him to switch to the organ, and soon he was performing with soul-jazz greats such as
Lou Donaldson,
Eddie Harris,
Houston Person, and
Gene Ammons.
Phillips debuted as a leader on the 1969 Prestige set
Sure 'Nuff, which was followed by the 1970 dates Black Magic and Black on Black. He returned to recording as a leader for the Muse label in 1976 with
My Black Flower, but the next year's I Concentrate on You proved to be his final recording as a leader. After an illness in 1980,
Phillips moved to Los Angeles, where he occasionally taught, performed, and recorded as a sideman during the years to follow. ~ Steve Huey