BIG BAND | THE PHANTASTIC PHIL DEGREG

For generations of Cincinnati jazz fans, Phil DeGreg has been a beloved fixture of the scene—and for good reason. A pianist, composer, bandleader and mentor whose career has taken him from the road with legends like Woody Herman and J.J. Johnson to more than 16 albums of his own, Phil has spent decades shaping the sound and spirit of Cincinnati jazz. Join the CCJO for our season-closing celebration, featuring brand-new big band arrangements of Phil’s music crafted by local writers and CCJO musicians, and experience the extraordinary catalog of one of the city’s true jazz treasures.​

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Opening Act: TBA​

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Music Sponsors: Brad Pickard & Vicki Young​

Orchestra Sponsor: Ed Lyon

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About the Artist: Phil DeGreg, piano​

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Phil DeGreg began playing the piano in his childhood and now performs as a jazz pianist internationally. His earliest jazz influences were Bud Powell and Bill Evans, but he is accomplished and comfortable in a wide range of jazz styles, ranging from mainstream to bebop to Brazilian jazz. A graduate of Yale and the University of North Texas, he toured with the Woody Herman Orchestra in the 1980s and has 10 CDs to his credit as a leader. For 13 years he accompanied many national and international jazz artists in the house trio in Cincinnati’s famous Blue Wisp Jazz Club. He has been on staff with the renowned Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops since 1983, and has performed and taught in Europe and South America.

 

Phil DeGreg is the retired Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and is the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts study grants. In 2008 he was awarded a 4-month Fulbright Fellowship as a lecturer in Brazil.

 

His text “Jazz Keyboard Harmony” is a practical text for teaching jazz harmony for all musicians, and is used all over the world in universities and for private study.

 

Learn more about Phil DeGreg on his website phildegreg.com.