Simon Phillips

Simon Phillips (born February 6, 1957, in London, England) is a prolific English jazz and rock drummer.

Style

Phillips' trademark is his precise, creative and very dramatic style. His fills often begin earlier than is expected, often beginning on the "2-and" and continuing to build until "1" of the next bar. His use of metric modulation is notable, and he often uses it to build tension in sections of songs with repeated chord progressions. He often uses double bass drums in the context of a fill.

Phillips has been an endorser of Tama drums for many years. His carefully tuned and dynamic drum sound is highly identifiable, and he uses large drums and incorporates octobans and a gong drum in his kit.

Noted for his versatility, Phillips plays diverse styles, including rock, fusion, metal, prog, and jazz. He also plays open-handed, meaning that he plays the hi-hat with his left hand and the snare with the right, not crossing his hands. The ride cymbal is also played left instead of right. However, when playing jazz music, he switches to playing the traditional method with the hi-hat and ride.

Picture from drummerworld.com

Read more1

Read more2( see VDO drum solo & audio )

Simon Phillips website

See Simon Phillips drum solo drum technique on VDO bar above

Drum Lesson from Simon Phillips


Simon Phillips drum solo