Music – Los Angeles
To attempt to truly define the bombastic brilliance of this jazz trumpeter turned singer-songwriter would be like trying to catch a bear with a mousetrap. A multi-faceted, multi-instrumentalist, Philthy’s piano is his pulpit as he commands the stage with the bravado of a revolutionary. With the best backing band in music city as his army, it’s an invasion of the senses that leaves your body aching for more and your feet tapping the beat for days to come.
Traversing America introduced Philthy to a cavalcade of artists who would help shape his musical career. Aged 6 he unwittingly met his first love – the piano – and began belting out Amazing Grace like no other kid in Mobile, Alabama. Being the son of a preacher – a man “who sweated every ounce until he was red in the face” – Philthy learned how to captivate an audience and he’s taken that spirit on his own unique mission ever since.
St Louis brought the beauty of big band noise and an ear for improvisation, while College in Florida harnessed his gift on the trumpet and natural ability as a jazz pianist. Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard and Chet Baker were now inspiring his sound and firing his soul. Full-blooded Cherokee Indian, Lee Rucker, taught Philthy a thing or two on trumpet, before he was broadening his horizons further, playing salsa and Merengue while travelling with a group of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans.
The sounds of Gospel, Soul, Jazz, Salsa, and Funk were colliding ideas inside Philthy’s brilliantly twisted mind like a tornado fighting a hurricane. His near decade in Dallas put him under the wing of some of the most talented cats on the planet brought like Bernard Wright, Bobby Sparks, and Keith Anderson and so many others, who messed up his mind in the best possible way. This unique sound led to his being tapped as an arranger with multi-platinum artists including Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond, Al Jarreau, Anthony Hamilton, Frankie Beverly, Ledisi, Regina Belle and Timbaland.
Philthy has been imbued with the soul of a musical saviour and the manic energy of a deliciously decadent devil. With the humor and lyrical flow of Slim Shady before the music biz ate him up, Philthy could be the lovechild of Andre 3000 and Aretha Franklin, with James Brown laying down the blessing. He gives his life to bring music to yours. He’s been given a gift and wants you to share in it. This party’s just getting started…