LATEST NEWS
The Phil Miller Legacy Band: new soundtracks
We have Aymeric Leroy to thank for this week’s post
HERM
21.04.24
Phil: A Bird’s Eye View
Read about Phil’s father and his love of birds here
HERM
15.04.24
More Scores Added to OPUS
We have recently added a large number of Phil’s original scores, in PDF form, to our ever-growing OPUS section. Including Breadhead and Chez Gege. Check out these and more here.
KYLE
08.04.24
New Interview Episode – Jim Dvorak
This week we are happy to present the second part of Aymeric Leroy’s interview with Jim Dvorak.
HERM
31.03.24
Shortwave Whitstable 1993
SHORT WAVE – Whitstable, Tankerton Arms – 7 December 1993.
I had mistakenly stated that Martin Mycock’s partial recording of the November 17 gig in Birmingham was the only 1993 recording of Short Wave we had in the archives, but further research into our vaults has produced this,
24.03.24
Phil Miller Guitar Prize 2024
We held the third Phil Miller Guitar prize in the Eastside Jazz Club at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on Thursday the 29th of February. Watch videos and listen to the audio here.
HERM
19.03.24
New Interview – Jim Dvorak
This week we are posting the first episode of Aymeric Leroy’s interview with Jim Dvorak.
HERM
10.03.24
OPUS update
Recently we have been working to post as many of our, comprehensively scanned, scores as possible on our OPUS pages. in the last week, we have added just over a hundred new PDFs for seven different titles; these being:
Half Life
No Holds Barred
Above & Below
Bass Motives
Calyx
Conspiracy Theories
Delta Borderline
KYLE
03.03.24
Phil’s manuscripts now scanned to PDF
Today we have added all parts scanned as PDFs to Delta Borderline, Half Life & No Holds Barred. Find them in OPUS.
Back in November 2022 I began the task of digitising Phil’s manuscripts which are held in the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire‘s archives, overseen by the keeper of the Archives Dr Pedro Cravinho. The idea was to make Phil’s band parts available to the students of the Conservatoire and those of you who use the philmillerthelegacy.com site, by scanning these parts and saving them to PDFs. Every few months I travelled up to Birmingham to return the folders I had borrowed and pick up some new ones. I bought an A3 scanner to do this work and figured I could complete the task in a year. In the end it took one year and three months but I have finally finished them.
There were just under 90 folders containing 3326 pages of manuscript, divided into 77 compositions, ending up with 1143 merged PDFs
Kyle is busy adding these PDFs to the OPUS pages so you will see them as fast as he can put them up. I will announce them on the home page as we put them up.
I will be returning the final folders when I go back to The RBC for the Phil Miller Guitar Prize on the 29th of this month where the newly formed Phil Miller Legacy Band has it’s debut performance.
Kyle is busy adding these PDFs to the OPUS pages so you will see them as fast as he can put them up. I will announce them on the home page as we put them up
HERM
25.02.24
In Cahoots Rotterdam 1984
Phil’s cassette archive of In Cahoots concerts has numerous recordings from the band’s first European tour in 1984, and the fact that Richard Sinclair was playing bass in this line-up makes these especially popular with Hatfield fans, in spite of the music being very different…
18.02.24
Phil Miller Guitar Prize
Read about this year’s Phil Miller Guitar Prize.
HERM
12.02.24
New OPUS addition – Inca
Today we have added Inca to our OPUS pages
HERM
11.02.24
Phil Miller a Lifetime of Recording
Read all about Phil’s recording history with In Cahoots here.
HERM
04.02.24
New Interview Episode – Mark Fletcher
This week we are posting the fourth and final episode of Aymeric’s interview with Mark Fletcher.
HERM
28.01.24
In Cahoots – York, Arts Centre – November 1987
This audience recording doesn’t sound as good as the soundboard from the previous night in Oxford previously posted here, but it’s the only complete concert from 1987 we have in the archives, including “Above and Below” and “Green and Purple” which were both missing from Oxford. This is from the brief period with both Hugh Hopper and Steve Franklin in the line-up, who clearly found some common ground as demonstrated by their subsequent collaboration in Conglomerate and the 2001 quartet session with Charles Hayward and Simon Picard. Along with Phil’s material, Elton, Steve and Hugh each contribute a piece, most notably Steve’s otherwise unrecorded “Small Creatures”.
New OPUS addition – No Holds Barred
Today we have added No Holds Barred to our OPUS collection.
HERM
14.01.24
Phil Miller A Self Taught Musician
Read about some of Phil’s personal history and the early years of his career here.
HERM
08.01.24
Mark Fletcher Interview
This week we are adding the third episode of Aymeric Leroy’s interview with drummer Mark Fletcher.
HERM
01.01.24
SHORT WAVE – Birmingham, Midlands Arts Centre – 27 November 1993
Once again we have Martin Mycock to thank for this recording of Short Wave on their inaugural and, as it turned out, only UK tour of sorts…
26.12.23
New OPUS page: No More Mr Nice Guy
This week we are adding No More Mr Nice Guy to our OPUS pages.
HERM
17.12.23
No More Mister Nice Guy
Read about the origins of No More Mr Nice Guy.
HERM
10.12.23
New interview content: Mark Fletcher episode two
Today we are posting the second part of Aymeric Leroy’s fascinating interview with Mark Fletcher.
HERM
03.12.23
In Cahoots Rotterdam 1985
Rotterdam, Mephisto – 29 March 1985
Another ambient cassette recording from Hugh Hopper’s first tour with In Cahoots, and yet another different setlist with a couple of pieces (both of them on the freer end of Inca’s repertoire) not heard in either the Eindhoven or Paris concerts available elsewhere on the site (4 days before and the next day, respectively) – Elton’s Janna, named after his daughter, and Calyx, in its only recorded performance by the line-up we are aware of. This is very likely incomplete, with five other potential inclusions missing, but still a substantial amount of music. Of particular note are the two pieces by Pete Lemer, including the rare Bring It To Me, played in succession in the second ‘set’ (or at least side 2 of the cassette in the archives) – no material by Hugh had yet been added. Instead tribute is paid to the late Alan Gowen with Reflexes In The Margin.
26.11.23
New OPUS page – Inca
This week we are adding Inca to our OPUS collection,
HERM
19.11.23
Inca – In Cahoots – What’s in a Name?
This week Herm writes about how In Cahoots got their name.
HERM
12.11.23
New Interview with Mark Fletcher
This week we are happy to bring you the first part of Aymeric Leroy’s interview with drummer Mark Fletcher.
HERM
05.11.23
Miller-Baker Duo Birmingham 1994
1994 wasn’t Phil’s most active year on the live front, with only one In Cahoots gig (the Jazz Café Halloween gig, documented elsewhere on this site) and a handful of Short Wave dates (including a high profile appearance at Gong’s 25th Birthday celebrations), the rest being duo dates with Fred, one at the Vortex in April and a 5-date UK tour in September, of which the present recording (once again by Martin Mycock) documents the last. The sound quality is average but listenable, and there are issues with the 2nd set – only a short fragment of “For Christine” remained which we chose to leave out, but we did keep the two longer fragments of “Underdub” as they total a respectable 6 minutes, and sadly the closing “Green & Purple” cuts just as the familiar riffing gets going, but this is still an enjoyable document, with the earliest known recordings of “Song For Big Fred” and a very embryonic “Adagio”.
29.10.23
New OPUS page – The Fox
Today we are posting the Opus page of The Fox
I have added the article I posted last week to this page.
HERM
22.10.23
Origins of The Fox at Orchard Cottage
Today we are posting an article about the origins of Phil’s sailing dingy The Fox
HERM
15.10.23
Mark Hewins Interview
This week we are posting the fourth, and final, part of Aymeric Leroy’s Interview with guitarist Mark Hewins.
HERM
08.10.23
Hatfield and the North Bilston 2005
This was a sort of warm-up gig for Hatfield’s concerts in Japan in early October and the full UK tour that followed, and their first live performance since the European tour of June, undertaken with the support of Mark Fletcher as second drummer as Pip was having serious back problems. This marked the debut of the “Big Jobs / Going Up to People…” opening medley, replicating that of the first album, and “Fitter Stoke Has a Bath”. These is also an instrumental version of Alex’s “Psychic Warrior”, later matched with lyrics by Pip after Elton Dean’s passing in early 2006.
01.10.23
New OPUS Page – Eastern Region
This week we are including Phil’s composition Eastern Region in our OPUS collection.
HERM
24.09.23
New Fred Baker Masterclass – Calyx
Today we are publishing Fred T Baker’s Calyx Masterclass.
HERM
17.09.23
Mark Hewins Interview part three
This week we are posting the third part of Aymeric Leroy’s Interview with guitarist Mark Hewins.
HERM
10.09.23
In Cahoots Nottingham 2001
For this recording as well as several others which we plan to also make available here, we have fan Martin Mycock to thank as it’s his recording of this gig, one of too few played after the release of “Out of the Blue” in 2001. Of course, Benji’s board recordings of the subsequent Japanese shows in December remain the ultimate document of this period, but this is a worthy alternative, and the only document we have of the band playing the entire album during a single performance, whereas in Japan it was spread over two nights. This still leaves room for a few tasty older tunes. After Pip left in 2002, only “Delta Borderline” remained in the set, which makes these versions of the other “Out of the Blue” material all the more valuable…
03.09.23
New OPUS Page – Flashpoint
This week we are adding Phil’s composition Flashpoint to our OPUS pages.
HERM
27.08.23
New Fred Baker Masterclass Flashpoint
This week we are showing a new masterclass Flashpoint from Fred Baker. Mark Hewins Interview
Today we are posting the second part of Aymeric Leroy’s Interview with guitarist Mark Hewins.
HERM
13.08.23
In Cahoots: Lichfield, George Hotel – 31 October 2003
Recordings of In Cahoots playing their then-new album “All That” are pretty rare. The go-to document for that is definitely the Tritonales Festival from June 2003 as it’s a good soundboard/audience matrix, whereas this, one of 4 UK gigs later the same year, is definitely a slightly boomy audience source, but it’s nearly the complete concert, with just seconds missing at the start and end, and it’s as dynamic a performance as you’d expect from this line-up, not long before Elton and Jim left.
06.08.23
New OPUS Page – Truly Yours
This week we are adding Phil’s composition Truly Yours to our OPUS pages:
This page includes not only a Fred Baker Masterclass but some great live videos and a ton of audio tracks.
HERM
30.07.23
New Fred Baker Masterclass Lock In
This week we are presenting another of our masterclasses from Fred Baker. This one is called Lock In. A lock in refers to the practice of locking the Pub’s doors after the last call to keep out the prying eyes of the law. It conjures up the picture of two guys on guitars having a jam after hours. Phil wrote this piece as a duo for himself and Fred Baker. This track is not available on this site, but the CD in which it features can be found on Discogs.23.07.23
Sarah Gail Brand interview final episode
Today we are publishing the second and final part of Aymeric Leroy’s interview with Sarah Gail Brand, the trombone player who joined the 20 other musicians who came together in January 2019 to celebrate the Life In Music of Phil Miller at his tribute concert at the Vortex, London, which you can find elsewhere on this site.
HERM
16.07.23
In Cahoots Liège Belgium May 1986
Here is another recording from the 1986 European tour, again drawn from a cassette tape from Phil’s personal archive that shows its age although it’s still very listenable. Although it misses the first few seconds of the opening “Above and Below” it otherwise seems to be the complete performance…
09.07.23
New OPUS page: Early Days
Today we are adding Phil’s composition Early Days to our OPUS pages:
HERM
02.07.23
Mark Hewins Interview
This week we are posting the first part of Aymeric Leroy’s Interview with guitarist Mark Hewins.
HERM
25.06.23
New Fred Baker Master Class – Second Sight
Today we have added a brand new master class by Fred Baker. Which you can find here.
HERM
19.06.2023
Matching Mole Paris 1972
This is not a previously unheard performance – although it should be pointed out that the footage filmed on that day for the French TV programme ‘Pop 2’ was captured earlier in the day during soundcheck – but this version comes from a very low generation copy that hasn’t circulated much until now. It is somewhat ‘brick walled’ but a more pleasant listen that one would surmise from the corresponding waveforms…
11.06.23
New OPUS page: Calyx
Today we are adding Phil’s composition Calyx to our OPUS pages:
HERM
04.06.23
Sarah Gail Brand interview
Today we are publishing the first part of Aymeric Leroy’s interview with Sarah Gail Brand, the trombone player who joined the 20 other musicians who came together in January 2019 to celebrate the Life In Music of Phil Miller at his tribute concert at the Vortex, London, which you can find elsewhere on this site.
HERM
28.05.23
New: UNDERDUB masterclass by Fred Baker
We are excited this week to present the first of a new batch of Masterclasses by Fred Baker. Fred came down to London last month and we spent a week filming these new Masterclasses. which we will post on this site over the coming months. I know this first one: UNDERDUB will be welcomed by a lot of visitors to this site. It is a very familiar piece made popular with Hatfield & The North. Fred has produced 4 videos for this masterclass. In the first one he uses his JamMan to produce a duo performance of Underdub. In the second he takes us through the score for the melody and the form. The third one uses the score for the rhythm guitar part and the fourth explores ideas for improvisation.
HERM
21.05.23
In Cahoots Villebon-sur-Yvette 1998
I was recently sent this recording by fellow fan Pierre Tassone, of Music By Mail mail-order in Denmark, who was intrigued by it being labelled as being from the Villebon-sur-Yvette gig from 1998…
14.05.23
New OPUS page: A Fleeting Glance
Today we are adding Phil’s composition A Fleeting Glance to our OPUS pages:
HERM
08.05.23
John Etheridge interview part four
This week we are posting the fourth part of Aymeric’s interview with John Etheridge.
HERM
30.04.23
Phil and Fred in Russia part four
This week we are publishing the fourth part of Phil and Fred’s adventures in Russia.
HERM
23.04.23
In Cahoots Bracknell 1988
This was the last in a series of UK gigs In Cahoots performed at the tail end of 1988, the first since the Split Seconds sessions the previous summer, and the last until the European tour nearly a year later. It’s also the only one we have a recording of, and all the luckier for it as it has a piece that appears nowhere else, an untitled contribution by Steve Franklin…
16.04.23
New OPUS page: Nowadays a Silhouette
Today we are adding Phil’s composition Nowadays a Silhouette to our OPUS pages:
HERM
09.04.23
John Etheridge interview part three
Today we are posting the third part of Aymeric’s interview with John Etheridge.
HERM
02.04.23
Phil Miller Guitar Prize 16 March 2023
The Competition for the Phil Miller Guitar Prize is held annually at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and took place in the Conservatoir’s Eastside Jazz Club last Thursday 16th March. The £1000 prize is open to students at the Conservatoire who have each chosen one of Phil’s compositions and is awarded to the best performance / interpretation. We had a fantastic response this year, all the performances were very strong and the adjudicating panel, consisting of staff from the Conservatoire, had their work cut out when deciding the winners.
In Cahoots Le Dunois Paris April ’84
“Merci d’être venus en France!” (“thanks for coming to France”), a member of the audience is heard saying to the band as they enter the stage. Indeed it had been a few years since either Phil Miller (with National Health) or Richard Sinclair (with Camel) had been seen on a French stage when they played at Paris’ Dunois venue as part of In Cahoots’ debut European tour…
19.03.23
New: Scores on OPUS pages
This week we are reposting Underdub OPUS page with the addition of some scores, both Sibelius files, a midi file and 3 scores as pdf. I am often asked by musicians if I have the dots for this piece, so I am glad to publish them now.
HERM
12.03.23
The Upcoming Phil Miller Guitar Prize 16th March 2023
We are holding this year’s GUITAR PRIZE at the ROYAL BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOURE early
this year on 16th of this month, starting at 6.30pm. I have completed the above paintings, all measuring 1.02 metre by 76cm, to form a decorative display in the recesses of the Eastside Jazz Club, either side of the auditorium on the night. They represent Phil’s career from Delivery, Matching Mole, Hatfield & The North, National Health, Shortwave, Phil Miller – Fred Baker Duo and In Cahoots.
Students from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire will compete for the Prize by playing their versions of their chosen piece of Phil’s compositions. Fred will also perform with his Trio with Mickey O’Brien on bass and Jim Bashford on drums. You can find all the details on the Conservatoire’s Events Calendar here
I hope everyone who is able to travel to this gig will come and I hope to see you all there. This is a yearly event that the Conservatoire will host. Next year we hope also to have a student band: The Phil Miller Legacy Band up and running, who are forming to play Phil’s music, both at the Conservatoire and at public venues – festivals etc. The Conservatoire holds all Phil’s music in their Archives and the Guitar Prize and the Legacy Band are our way of keeping Phil’s music alive.
HERM
05.03.23
John Etheridge interview part two
This week we are posting the second part of Aymeric’s interview with John Etheridge.
HERM
26.02.23
In Cahoots Bull and Gate London 1983
This good quality cassette recording is a very interesting document for several reasons. One, it’s the second earliest instance of In Cahoots being captured on tape in live performance, during their residency at the Bull & Gate pub. Two, and most importantly, Elton Dean was absent on that occasion, so what we have hear is a quartet of Phil Miller, Richard Sinclair, Pip Pyle and relative newcomer Peter Lemer, who nonetheless already sounds very assured…
19.02.23
New OPUS page: Billow
Today we are adding Phil’s composition Billow to our OPUS pages:
HERM
12.02.23
Phil and Fred in Russia part three
Today we are publishing the third part of Herm’s tale of Phil Miller and Fred Baker’s trip to Russia.
HERM
05.02.23
John Etheridge Interview part one
This week we are showing episode one of Aymeric’s interview of John Etheridge. Although John and Phil never played together, they knew each other well and John played at Phil’s Tribute Concert on 6th Jan 2019 at the Vortex. John is too well known to need any introduction from me, but if you want to find out more, click here.
HERM
29.01.23
Short Wave New Morning Paris 1991
This was recorded a couple of nights before the performance at Jacky Barbier’s club in Burgundy shared elsewhere on this site, and another soundboard recording, although inferior in quality – I seem to remember digitising this from a couple of cassettes in Pip’s collection. It has a version of “2PM” which the above-mentioned gig lacks, but conversely this doesn’t have the long improv after Didier’s “VZG” poem… 
22.01.23
New OPUS page: ED or Ian / E Dorian
This week we are adding Phil’s composition ED or Ian / E Dorian to our OPUS pages:
HERM
15.01.23
Phil and Fred in Russia part two
Today we are publishing the second part of Herm’s tale of Phil Miller and Fred Baker’s trip to Russia.
HERM
08.01.23
Theo Travis Interview part four
Watch the fourth and final part of Aymeric Leroy’s interview with Theo Travis.
HERM
01.01.23
In Cahoots Jazz Café London 1994
We had already posted the DAT-sourced audio to this concert, the band’s only gig of 1994, a release party of sorts for the “Recent Discoveries” album recorded the previous year. As it happens, the vaults also included a transfer of a video recording of the same gig, but with inferior sound from the camera’s own microphone.
26.12.22
New OPUS page: Underdub
This week we are adding Phil’s composition Underdub to our OPUS pages:
HERM
18.12.22
Phil and Fred in Russia part one
This week we are publishing Herm’s tale of Phil Miller and Fred Baker’s trip to Russia.
HERM
11.22.22
Theo Travis Interview Episode Three
Watch part three of Aymeric Leroy’s interview with Theo Travis.
HERM
04.12.22
The Robert Lang Session 2003
The final instalment in our 3-part series documenting the Progman Cometh festival (Seattle, 2002/03) is something special. A couple of days after the second edition of the festival, on 5-6 August 2003 the members of Glass plus Phil Miller and Richard Sinclair spent some hours at the Robert Lang Studio in Shoreline, a few miles north of Seattle…
27.11.22
New OPUS page: Lything and Gracing
This week we are adding Phil’s composition Lything and Gracing to our OPUS pages:
HERM
20.11.22
Phil demo Nov 04 project
Recently I came across a writeable CD of Phil’s bearing the title PHIL’S DEMO NOV 04 PROJECT. Phil often made demo tapes/CDs as well as written scores to give to musicians when he had written new material…
HERM
13.11.22
Theo Travis Interview part two
Watch part two of Aymeric Leroy’s interview with Theo Travis.
HERM
06.11.22
Canterburied in Seattle 2003
This second instalment of the Progman Cometh festival archives addresses the second and final edition of the festival, and is more complete in its documentation of the Canterbury Scene part of the festival…
New OPUS page: Dreams Wide Awake
This week we are adding Phil’s composition Dreams Wide Awake to our OPUS pages:
HERM
23.10.22
The Miller Brothers and Me part three by Hag
This week we have published the third and final part of Hag’s trilogy.
HERM
16.10.22
Theo Travis Interview
This week we are showing episode one of Aymeric’s interview with Theo Travis.
HERM
09.10.22
Canterburied in Seattle 2002
We are very happy to bring you a sonic documentation of the Progman Cometh festival, which existed for two years (2002/03) in Seattle, WA, and hosted an impressive number of important members of the scene as well as a number of bands that would broadly fit under the ‘avant-prog’ umbrella. For these recordings, which will be presented in mp3 format
AYMERIC
01.10.22
New OPUS page: Above and Below
This week we are adding another of Phil’s compositions to our OPUS pages:
OPUS is a dynamic project and more scores, audios and videos will be added as they are discovered.
HERM
24.09.22
The Miller Brothers and Me part two by Hag
Find the second instalment of “The Miller Brothers and Me” here.
HERM
18.09.22
The Drummer Paul Dufour died on 7th September
We were very sorry to hear that Paul died this week. We relied heavily on Paul’s help in 2019 when we were preparing for Phil’s tribute concert ‘A Life In Music’. Paul rescued this event at short notice when Trevor Tomkins had to pull out due to ill health. He did a fantastic job. 11.09.22
Hatfield & The North at the Baha Prog Festival Mexico – 2006
The third and last time I saw the reformed Hatfield was at Baja Prog, and no doubt the farthest I travelled to hear them. It was a great prog rock festival that was organized by the keyboard player and leader of the Mexican prog band Cast, Alfonso Vidales, in his home city of Mexicali in Baja California, just South of the US/Mexican border. I’d already been to the 2004, on account of SoftWorks performing what would turn out to be their last-ever gig there, and for both visits I have to thank Leonardo Pavkovic, who managed both bands and was also responsible for bringing a lot of reformed heritage prog bands, many from Italy, to the festival. Hatfield and the North wasn’t the only veteran band on the bill that year, I also got to see the likes of Nektar, England, Trettioariga Kriget, SBB and Mirthrandir, as well as contemporary bands like Marillion, the Flower Kings, Lazuli and Mostly Autumn…
03.09.22
New OPUS page Conspiracy Theories published
This week we are publishing a new OPUS page: Conspiracy Theories.This composition of Phil’s is the first track on the CD of the same name featuring a new lineup of In Cahoots.
HERM
27.08.22
“The Miller Brothers and me” by Hag
This week we are publishing an historical 3 part piece by Hag recounting his experiences with Phil and Steve containing loads of recordings, some of which many of you will not have heard before. Part 1 kicks off with The Steve Miller Tribute gig 12th May 2001
Paul Dufour Interview
The drummer Paul Dufour turned pro at the age of 18. We were very lucky when he came to our rescue prior to the Phil Miller Tribute Concerts at the Vortex in 2019 when Trevor Tomkins had to pull out for health reasons. Here is episode one of Aymeric’s Interview
HERM
13.07.22
National Health Toronto November 1979
National Health – The Edge, Toronto, Ontario, Canada – 11 November 1979
This bootleg recording from National Health’s 1979 North American tour has special significance for me. Not only is it one of the best sounding of the available ones, and a great performance to boot, but it’s also the first NH bootleg I ever laid my hands on, in the very early 1990s…
06.08.22
New OPUS page Bass Motives published
This week we are publishing a new OPUS page: Bass Motives. This is the first of several compositions Phil wrote for Fred Baker featuring the bass as a melodic instrument.
HERM
20.07.22
Phil Miller’s HARD SHOULDER – it’s hard to play – hence the title
This week I want to give some insight into how Phil approached recording his compositions. I recently came across an article that Dave Stewart wrote about Hard Shoulder – a piece of Phil’s you can find on the Cutting Both Ways CD Phil’s first CD featuring his band In Cahoots.23.07.22
Simon Picard Interview Final Part
This week we are showing the third and final episode of Aymeric’s interview with Simon Picard.
HERM
17.07.22
In Cahoots Argenteuil October 1998
October 1998 was the only time it was logistically possible for me to follow In Cahoots on several dates of a European tour. I had arranged a trip to Belgium to take advantage of not just the InCa gigs in Liège and Brussels, but also gigs by other favourite bands, Magma and Présent. But as the Belgian gigs would be played as a quartet, I also made sure I caught the sextet line-up on one of their two stops near Paris, a medieval cellar in Argenteuil where I would later return to hear John Greaves’ Roxongs Trio…
10.07.22
New OPUS page: Delta Borderline published
This week we are posting another new page from OPUS – the complete works of Phil Miller. Delta Borderline is a piece Phil wrote in 1999 specially for guitarist Doug Boyle when compiling the music for his forthcoming blues album Out Of The Blue released on the Crescent Discs label in 2000. Phil dedicated this CD to his brother Steve who died before it was released. On the OPUS page you can watch the video of Doug playing Delta Borderline at the Phil Miller Tribute Concert at the Vortex in 2019. We have started to add the scores to the OPUS pages and on the Delta Borderline page you will find Sibelius files and also some PDFs
HERM
02.07.22
Adding Contributors’ Transcriptions to THE DOTS
This week we are introducing a new category into THE DOTS. Recently we were very pleased when two people – Daniel Rheault and music teacher / band member Neil Browning sent us their transcriptions of Phil’s music taken from CDs. Both of them sent transcriptions of Phil playing Aigrette taken from the Hatfield & The North CD. These transcripts represent what Phil actually played on the CD. We do not have a copy of Phil’s original version of Aigrette as all his hand written manuscripts are held in the Archives of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. I am going to visit the archive after the summer break to do some digitising of these manuscripts where I hope to find an early version which I shall add to the Aigrette OPUS page along with later versions.
Daniel also sent us his transcriptions of Underdub and Lounging There Trying from Hatfield & The North’s The Rotter’s Club 1975 and Final Call from Phil’s 1988 Split Second CD. Daniel wants his email address shown as he would like to correspond with other musicians who share his interests.
We would be very pleased to receive more transcriptions from anyone who has made them and would like to see them added to this new section.
HERM
25.06.22
Simon Picard Interview Part Two
This week we are showing the second episode of Aymeric’s interview with Simon Picard.
HERM
18.06.22
In Cahoots London Astoria Progeny Festival 2003
In Cahoots London Astoria Progeny Festival November 15 2003
This is a short but unique performance by In Cahoots as it features Liam Genockey in his only gig with the band (among various connections with the other members, he had just recorded the excellent Psychic Warrior album with Elton, Fred and Alex Maguire, the same line-up already heard on most of Elton’s equally excellent Moor Song from 2001). My recollection is that initially, Mark Fletcher was unavailable, so Liam was brought in, then at the last minute Fletch was available again, but so as not to let his hard work go to waste, Liam drummed anyway with Fletch providing extra percussion.
Phil Miller Guitar Prize 2022
The prize of £1000 is offered to students of the RBC for a solo or duo performance of a composition by Phil Miller to demonstrate their understanding of his oeuvre.
On Thursday 19th May the Phil Miller Guitar Prize took place in the Eastside Jazz Club at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. This event has been postponed for the last two years because of the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic. It was in danger of being postponed for a third year when at the last minute we were offered this date. We were unprepared for it as we had been hoping to stage the event later in June but decided to accept this date and put on a pared-down version rather than missing out until 2023.
In spite of the short notice we had a good response resulting in six performances: three duos and three solos.
Fred Baker provided additional entertainment with his trio: our special guest of the evening Mark Fletcher on drums, Mickey O’Brien on Bass and himself on guitar playing some of Phil’s pieces.
The First Prize was won by Leo Morland on guitar with a fabulous performance of Phrygian Blues and the Second Prize was won by a duo performance from Oliver Canham on guitar and Adam Roberts on electric bass with a great rendition of Eastern Region.
We are posting all the performances of the evening starting with the first and second prize winners.
HERM
28.05.22
Simon Picard Interview by Aymeric Leroy
This week we are showing episode one of Aymeric’s interview of Simon Picard. Simon joined in Phil’s band In Cahoots in July 2005. You can watch him playing in the Phil Miller Tribute Concert on this site on Miserable Man, Fool’s Meeting, Nowadays a Silhouette, Second Sight and Nan True’s Hole.
HERM
21.05.22
Interview
Here is a link to an interview of Phil that appeared on the Hatfield face book page that Lynette Densham sent me because I had not seen it. The interviewer hilariously describes Phil as “quite” a nice man, whereas everyone who ever met Phil knew he was the nicest man on the planet!
HERM
15.05.22
In Cahoots at MelkWeg Amsterdam 1984
This is a very early In Cahoots gig from the first overseas tour that Phil took his band on. They played three gigs in France followed by twelve in Holland including a radio broadcast in Utrecht. This tour sadly marked the end of Richard Sinclair’s time with In Cahoots and the band didn’t begin performing again until 1985 when dear Hugh Hopper took up the Bass guitar slot and In Cahoots embarked on their second European tour.
HERM
14.05.22
New OPUS page published: PHRYGIAN BLUES
This week we are posting our second OPUS page featuring Phrygian Blues with Fred’s masterclass and several manuscripts and Sibelius files along with audio files from various performances/recordings.
Although on the index page we present these works in alphabetical order, we will not be posting them in this order but rather one page at a time as they are completed.
07.05.22
In Cahoots Quartet Travers Bruxelles Belgium 19th October 1998
In October 1998 In Cahoots played five consecutive European gigs, the last two as a quartet…
HERM
30.04.22
Double Up 2
The posthumous release of this album was a very poignant event. During the 40 years we spent together Phil was always at work on his music, always in his studio with his guitar and his computer. He had a lot of things on the go at the same time, some of them stretching over long periods of time. The work he and Fred Baker put in working on the music for this CD started soon after the release of the first Double Up CD. He and Fred were very close and Fred was a frequent visitor. Although he lived in Derbyshire he was a frequent visitor to London. As a member of In Cahoots there were plenty of rehearsals for upcoming gigs and tours and Fred always stayed with us in Dalston. The duo recorded the material for this CD on these occasions over the years. As you can read on Fred’s notes in the CD booklet Phil arranged some of this material for the band and they became part of their repertoire but these pieces can be heard in their original duet format on the new CD along with brand new, never before heard pieces. When Phil died in 2017 Fred and I agreed we would find these recordings and complete the work that Phil had left unfinished so that it could be included in his body of work. Benj Lefevre, Phil’s long standing faithful friend and brilliant sound engineer worked hard to rescue these old tapes and mix the material. To Preserve Phil’s legacy has been my driving force since his death and this website has been the vehicle but putting together and releasing this CD has been a deeply emotional experience. When somebody you love dies there is usually nothing more you can ever do for them. Listening to this CD for the first time made us feel we had done something for Phil that his death had prevented him from doing himself.
Several people have been in touch with me from Europe about having difficulties getting hold of Double Up 2 by Phil Miller and Fred Baker Crescent Discs CD12CD so yesterday I put copies up for sale on http://www.Discogs.com under Phil Miller (artist), seller: Herm Miller. Back in the days when Phil ran the Crescent Discs label, he always sold his CDs for a modest price which included free delivery. As this CD was brought out under the old Crescent Discs label, I have remained faithful to his example and priced the CD at £12 with free delivery to Europe (& UK). I sold a copy straight away so I know the system works.
HERM
23.04.22
In Cahoots Spaziomusica Pavia 26th May 1990
Today we are posting a performance of In Cahoots on their 1990 Italian tour.
HERM
16.04.22
OPUS: The Complete Works Of Philip Paul Brisco Miller
This new addition to the legacy website will eventually include all the material we have been able to gather on all of Phil’s 80+ compositions – manuscripts/scores, masterclasses, videos and audio files. This material is aimed primarily at the students of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire who are participating in the annual Phil Miller Guitar Prize.Although on the index page we present these works in alphabetical order, we will not be posting them in this order but rather one page at a time as they are completed. We are starting with Second Sight.
09.04.22
Jack Monck Interview final part
This week we are posting the final part of Aymeric’s interview with Jack Monck.
HERM
03.04.22
Jack Monck Interview part two
Today we have added the second part of our three part interview of Jack Monck by Aymeric Leroy.
HERM
27.03.22
Jack Monck Interview by Aymeric Leroy
This interview featuring the bassist Jack Monck – one of Phil Miller’s oldest friends. It is the third in our series of interviews by Aymeric Leroy. Here is episode one.
HERM
19.03.22
Delivery: Phil, Steve, JACK MONCK and Pip
In Cahoots Vortex London 2009
This is a recording I did of the last In Cahoots performance I ever attended – as it turned out, they only did one more in Colchester the following day, so this is a rare document of a lineup…
Doug Boyle Interview Concluding Episode
This week we are posting the second and final part of Aymeric Leroy’s interview with Doug Boyle.
Herm
04.03.22
Doug Boyle Interview by Aymeric Leroy
Today we are posting the first instalment of a two part interview with guitarist and composer, Doug Boyle, by Aymeric Leroy.
Herm
25.02.22
National Health Hull 1977
Listen to National Health Live at Hull University from November 1977
Herm
18.02.22
Phil Miller & Fred Baker Double Up 2 – February 4th 2022
We have some MEGA EXCITING NEWS to share with you all !!!! The long-awaited Phil Miller/Fred Baker Duo CD Double Up 2 will be released on March 4th 2022 and is available now for pre-order. A sequel to the much loved Double Up album released by Crescent Discs in 1992, the new CD is distributed worldwide by Burning Shed and will not be streamed or available from other distributors. Burning Shed is run for musicians by musicians, with all profits from these sales going directly to the artists with no record company involvement. You can get alerts of Shed’s new releases by subscribing to their newsletter.
Pre-order the CD at burningshed.com
Burning Shed newsletter
DOUBLE UP 2 is a beautiful CD which includes some of Phil’s brand new, never before heard tunes, recorded by Phil and Fred over an extended period and only recently discovered. You can hear more about the album from Fred who talks about it in the video we are posting today. The video also gives updates on all the activities being planned for the Phil Miller Guitar Prize event being hosted by the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
The quickest way to get your copy is to pre-order now from Burning Shed.
Fred Baker Video
Here is the short Video I made of Fred Baker on his last visit just before the Soft Machine gig at New Cross Gate. Behind him you will see a preview of the paintings I have been doing for a display at the Phil Miller Guitar Prize event.Mean Fiddler March 2005
We didn’t know it at the time but that evening at the Mean Fiddler was an event not to miss and, sadly, not to be repeated. The official live debut of the reformed Hatfield and the North (with keyboardist Alex Maguire joining original members Phil Miller, Richard Sinclair and Pip Pyle), following an informal one earlier that year in Whitstable as part of what was billed as a Richard Sinclair Band gig…
28.01.22
Hugh Hopper’s Benefit Concert 2008
I recently came across this photo of Hugh that I took when Hugh brought his wife and their new daughter Rose to visit us many years ago. Today in fond memory of Hugh, we are showing a video of highlights from the benefit concert for him which was held at London’s 100 Club on 14th December 2008.
Herm
21.01.22
The Fred Baker Interview Final Part
This week we are showing the concluding episode of Aymeric Leroy’s interview with Fred Baker: the erstwhile bass player with Phil Miller’s band In Cahoots and now the new bass player with Soft Machine. This photo was taken on 5th January this year on the eve of the Soft Machine concert in New Cross Gate, London the next day. Look out for a surprise video of Fred next week giving an update on his work with Phil’s music at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
Herm
14.01.22
The Fred Baker Interview Part Two
This week we are featuring Fred Baker again with episode two of his three part interview with Aymeric Leroy. Pictured here is a shot of Fred, well wrapped up against the cold, taken from Phil and Fred’s Russian Duo tour in 1993.
Herm
07.01.22
The Fred Baker Interview
We expect you have all seen the news that Fred is now the new Bass player in Soft Machine, replacing Roy Babbington, whose hand problems have forced him to retire. Fred was Roy’s recommendation for the job and we look forward to seeing him play in this new role. Today we are showing the first episode of Aymeric’s interview with Fred Baker, the longest serving bass player in Phil’s band In Cahoots. Phil and Fred came together in 1998 and played together in both In Cahoots and as a Duo. There will be two further episodes of Fred’s interview, meanwhile here is the first…
Herm
31.12.21
Matching Mole London 1972
London, Queen Elizabeth Hall – 7 September 1972
Re-assembled from three different sources, but primarily a decent audience recording (except for the beginning and end), this is chronologically the last Matching Mole performance captured for posterity, and it’s also the only one from after the band had recorded Little Red Record…
17.12.21
Final episode of Aymeric’s interview of the guitarist Jeff Green
In this conclusion of his interview Jeff gives us his thoughts on Phil, his own present activities, different approaches to music, playing without a score, his experiences playing with the participants in Ian Cruikshank’s Gypsy Festivals, thoughts on Miles Davis, and updates on Gentle Giant and his brother Gary.
Herm
10.12.21
Jeff Green interview: Django Reinhardt – Stephane Grappelli – Nigel Kennedy
In this penultimate episode of Aymeric’s interview with the guitarist Jeff Green, we hear how Jeff returned to the acoustic guitar, rediscovered the music of Django Reinhardt while playing with violinist Mike Piggott in the Chris Francis Quartet, played with bassist Jim Richardson’s Be-bop Quartet Pogo, joined the Stephane Grappelli Quartet with Martin Taylor and Alec Dankworth and became part of Nigel Kennedy’s ‘Wasp Factory’.
Herm
03.12.21
The Melting Pot of WALFORD ROAD in the 1970s
This week we are showing the third episode of Aymeric’s Jeff Green interview in which Jeff recalls the musicians who lived in Walford Road and some of the bands that emerged from this melting pot, including Elton Dean’s JUST US, Phil Howard’s MEGALOPOLIS and Jo Gallivan’s INTERCONTINENTAL EXPRESS.
Herm
26.11.21
Jeff Green as SOFT MACHINE roadie in USA 1971 tour
This week we are showing the second episode of Aymeric’s Jeff Green interview. Jeff takes us behind the scenes while acting as a roadie for Soft Machine on their first American tour.
Herm
19.11.21
No Holds Barred – Interviews by Aymeric Leroy
One of the spin-offs from the Phil Miller Tribute Concert that we arranged after Phil died, was Aymeric Leroy’s idea of a series of interviews of the musicians performing at the concert. I bought three Sony Camcorders and we organised an interviewing suite at Colvestone Crescent using Phil’s Edirol recorder and two tripods that I borrowed, with myself operating the hand-held camera for close-ups. Aymeric made many trips from France to do these interviews which we conducted over several days interviewing two or three musicians on each visit. You will have seen the short excerpts that Aymeric made from this series. What we are presenting here are the full-length versions. They can be found under the new MENU heading: NO HOLDS BARRED.
This first interview featuring the guitaist JEFF GREEN has been divided into five episodes. Here is the first episode….
Herm
12.11.21
Phil and Steve at St John’s Harlow 14 May 1998
Here is a recording of the dearly departed Miller brothers playing together at St John’s in Harlow over 20 years ago. The photograph is from an earlier period – probably 1966.
Herm
06.11.21
In Cahoots: new drummer rehearsal & Progman Cometh Festival 2002
When Pip Pyle left In Cahoots in 2002 to form his own band, Phil’s choice for a replacement was Mark Fletcher, fondly known as Fletch. There was no need to introduce Fletch as he was well known to everybody in the band – you would be hard pressed to find any musician on the scene that he hadn’t played with. In July 2002 Phil called a try out/rehearsal for Fletch before their upcoming performance in Seattle a few weeks later…
Herm
20.10.21
National Health Sweden 1980
National Health’s final line-up (1979-80) is well documented in live recordings, but this one is made extra special by being Alan Gowen’s last performance with the band, and his penultimate public appearance.
22.10.21
Fourth Anniversary of Phil Miller’s death.
PHIL MILLER 22.01.1949 – 18.10.2017
I have selected a piece of Phil’s music for this sad day…..
Herm
The Miller Bothers and Lol Coxhill at Rumours 1992
And now for something completely different: Phil, his brother Steve and Lol Coxhill playing live at Rumours in London on April 17th 1992. I found this DAT recording in a box of old tapes in Phil’s studio and thought it was worth giving it a second airing – not what you are used to listening to on this website!
Herm
08.10.21
Prog Italia Magazine Article – part three
A big thank you again to Vincenzo Giorgio for writing a fantastic three-part biography of Phil for Prog Italia magazine. The third and final part can be found here.
01.10.21
1996 Mystery Gig
“I wish I could tell you more about where and when this particular performance by In Cahootswas recorded, but it came on a DAT tape that had evidently been recorded over since it mentioned a 1991 date and the repertoire here is clearly 1996…”
25.09.21
Miller Baker Duo Maassluis Netherlands 1992
Listen to and download this Miller/Baker concert,
19.09.21
Fred Baker Trio 1000 Trades Birmingham 2019 – part three
Watch the third part of the Fred Baker Trio at the 1000 Trades in Birmingham playing Green & Purple.
15.09.21
In Cahoots Tribute to The Love Generation Tokyo 2001
We are all very excited about this week’s posting: the newly discovered tapes of Tribute to the Love Generation in Tokyo 2001 where In Cahoots played two great concerts on the 8th and 9th of December. The band were in tip top form and the music was at it’s best with a brand new set list. Everyone played really well and to top it all it was brilliantly recorded by one of Phil’s greatest friends: the inspired sound engineer Benj LeFevre. We decided to post both these superb concerts together and also updated the video of this event with the new sound track. So here it is in all it’s glory. Enjoy!
Herm
03.09.21
Fred Baker Trio 1000 Trades Birmingham 2019 – part two
Watch the second part of the Fred Baker Trio at the 1000 Trades in Birmingham playing Truly Yours and Delta Borderline.
28.08.21
Fred Baker Trio 1000 Trades Birmingham 2019 – part one
Watch the Fred Baker Trio play God Song and Underdub in Birmingham (1000 Trades) from 2019.
21.08.21
Fred Baker Trio 2019 – part three
Watch the third part of Fred’s Trio playing Above and Below at the Neptune in Chesterfield. The Trio features Fred Baker on guitars, Mickey O’Brien on Bass and Nick Twyman on drums.
07.08.21
Prog Italia Magazine Article.
A big thank you to Vincenzo Giorgio for writing a fantastic three-part biography of Phil for Prog Italia magazine. The second part can be found here, starting on page 28.
05.08.21
Fred Baker Trio 2019 – part two
Watch Fred’s Trio playing at the Neptune, his local pub in Chesterfield. The Trio features Fred Baker on guitars, Mickey O’Brien on Bass and Nick Twyman on drums.
30.07.21
In Cahoots BBC 1985
“Recorded on the eve of the band studio sessions for “Cutting Both Ways“, these are live-in-the-studio performances of the music Phil had recently written with the aid of a bursary from the Arts Council, specially recorded for the BBC’s Jazz Today programme…“
17.7.21
In Cahoots Mean Fiddler 2005
“This is a relatively short set by In Cahoots – for two reasons. First, this was a transitional line-up with a new frontline of Theo Travis (this would be his only performance with the band) on saxes and flute and Simon Finch on trumpet…”
10.07.21
Interview with Phil
Thanks to Aymeric for providing this fascinating interview with Phil from the spring of 1982.
07.07.21
National Health Squat Theater New York 1979
“The penultimate stop of National Health’s North American tour was a pair of shows at the Squat Theater, a venue in Manhattan that in subsequent years would host shows by the likes of Daevid Allen, Fred Frith, Sun Ra, Nico, the Lounge Lizards and Etron Fou Leloublan, who were touring the US at the same time as National Health…”
04.07.21
Remastered recordings
Thanks to Aymeric for remastering and separating four of our earlier recordings.
Use these links to listen:
Hatfield & The North, Club Citta Tokyo 2005
Miller/Baker and Friends, Tokyo 1991
In Cahoots, Université Villeneuve Lille 1984
In Cahoots, Nervi (Genova) 1991
23.06.21
New Masterclass: Out There
Today we have published a brand new masterclass. Out There is our first masterclass to have both guitar and bass guitar parts. To take a look, click here.
17.06.21
Solo Demos 1984/5
“These solo demos were recorded by Phil using a Fostex 4-track cassette recorder in 1984/85. Obviously the intention was to help the other members of In Cahoots get the feel of each piece, along with the score, rather than a finished product anyone outside that close circle was supposed to ever hear. But this is a fascinating listen for anyone who likes Phil’s music and, particularly, his wonderful multi-layered guitar playing…”
12.06.21
Delivery BBC ‘Sounds of the Seventies’ 1971
Thanks to Joerg Reinicke for this very special recording of Roy Babbington and Laurie Allan playing together with Delivery in March 1971 at the BBC for Alan Black’s ‘Sound of the Seventies’.
06.06.21
In Cahoots Jazz Café London 1994
“A very nice DAT recording of In Cahoots’ only gig of 1994, a release party of sorts for the “Recent Discoveries” album recorded the previous year, and which provides a very large chunk of the setlist here…”
Short Wave Brussels 1994
“We’ve had two early performances by this band (originally known as Hugh Hopper & Special Friends) from 1991 on this site. Three years on, with the “Live” CD (actually a mixture of studio and live recordings) coming out in the meantime, the repertoire was still largely unchanged here, and in fact Short Wave’s activities came to an end by 1996…”
22.05.21
In Cahoots Utrecht 1984
“This is one of the best recordings by the original line-up of In Cahoots, broadcast live by AVRO radio during the band’s Dutch tour of May 1984. It is quite well preserved, too, save for the first few seconds of Above and Below…”
16.05.21
Prog Italia Magazine Article.
A big thank you to Vincenzo Giorgio for writing a fantastic three-part biography of Phil for Prog Italia magazine.
For those of you that speak Italian, the first part (pg 58-65) can be found in the March edition here.
13.05.21
Miller Baker Duo Vilnius 1993
“In January 1993, Phil’s old friend and promoter of many Dutch tours for his various bands, Henk Weltevreden, took Phil and Fred Baker to Russia for a duo tour that actually began with a two-day stop in Vilnius, Lithuania…”
09.05.21
In Cahoots Florence 1991
“In the early days of the site we had posted a gig from this May/June 1991 In Cahoots tour with basically the same setlist in a different order but with only a continuous soundtrack. See below Immenstadt, Germany 25th May now with a fully documented playlist…”
02.05.21
In Cahoots New Vortex 2005
“This was In Cahoots’ first appearance at the Vortex in its new Dalston premises – the club’s previous location had seen the last performance by the Dean/Dvorak line-up in April the previous year…”
25.04.21
In Cahoots Eindhoven 1985
“We had already covered In Cahoots’ March 1985 (the first with Hugh Hopper on board) in a previous upload of the Paris Dunois gig, but that was an incomplete recording, and this performance from the Dutch leg of the tour adds a lot of extra material…”
18.04.21
Matching Mole London 1972
“This incomplete recording of one of Matching Mole’s two appearances at the King’s Cross Cinema, just a short walking distance from the band’s rehearsal space…”
11.04.21
In Cahoots Villebon-sur-Yvette 1998
“This is one of two In Cahoots gigs in 1998 where fellow guitarist, and long-time Pip Pyle associate Patrice Meyer sat in with the band…”
27.03.21
In Cahoots Old Fire Station Oxford 1987
“This excellent soundboard recording documents the first In Cahoots tour with Steve Franklin on keyboards, but still with Hugh Hopper on bass – a line-up that remains undocumented on any official release…”
20.03.21
National Health Washington DC 1979
Listen to and download National Health from their 1979 US tour, live in Washington DC on November 28th.
“National Health’s US tour of 1979 has been well documented with bootleg recordings of most shows in circulation. This is one that’s less common than others…”
13.03.21
New Master Class – Early Days
We have just published our latest master class with Fred Baker on Early Days. Find it here.
08.03.21
In Cahoots Le Dunois Paris ’85
Click here for our first ever recording from In Cahoots’ March 1985 European tour.
27.02.21
In Cahoots Pijnacker NL ’84
Listen to and download this newly digitized recording of In Cahoots at the de Trucker club in Pijnacker, Netherlands from 13th May 1984.
03.02.21
Billie Bottle’s Tribute to Phil
“HAPPY 72nd BIRTHDAY to the late, great, guitarist/composer and all round inspiration, Phil Miller.”
Phil’s Birthday
Today, as it is Phil’s birthday, I thought I would post this recent portrait of Phil at 17. It was painted from a photo taken by his brother Steve in Cannes in the south of France. Pip Pyle had borrowed his mother’s Mustang and driven the three of them there during the summer holidays. They had a great time, hanging out in the sun and sleeping on the beach. It was this year that saw the forming of the band Delivery.
Listen to Delivery live in Canterbury from 1972 here.
HERM – 22.01.21
Artchipel Orchestra: New Tribute to Phil
This CD dropped through my letter box from Italy last week. It is a wonderful homage to Phil from the Artchipel Orchestra and is called TRULY YOURS – The Music of Phil Miller. How great to hear Phil’s music has a new life.
I have included an extract here from the first track to whet the appetite and a link to their site.
HERM – 06.12.20
New Fred Baker Master Class
We are very happy to announce our latest master class is now available. Click here to see Fred Baker exploring Phrygian Blues.
30.11.20
A Life in Music: complete playlists
Now that we have completed our series of videos from Phil’s tribute concerts at the Vortex Jazz Club from January 2019, we have compiled then into two separate video playlists (one of each set) so that you can watch them continuously from start to finish. These can be found on the Concert page here. For those of you that would like to read Aymeric’s introduction, these can be found further down the same page.
23.11.20
Matching Mole 1972 TV Appearance
Someone has finally searched the vaults of the long-defunct Education TV for which Matching Mole filmed a 15-minute session in 1972. This was always presumed lost, but here it is, in black & white but in excellent condition.
09.09.20
Coming Saturday 1st August
Downloadable Midi Files
As of today we will be including Midi files with our scores on The dots page. These can be played on many media players and edited with most sequencing software. We are starting the collection with Phrygian Blues, which was our most recently added score and scheduled to be Fred Baker’s next masterclass.
28.06.20
New Score
Today we have added Phil’s score for Phrygian Blues, which can be found here.
17.06.20
Fred’s 60th Lockdown Bash
Here is a video Fred Baker put up on YouTube. He had to cancel the concerts he had planned around his birthday on 4th June because of Lockdown, so he made this performance from his garden. He includes one of Phil’s pieces: Early Days from Phil Miller’s CD: OUT OF THE BLUE on the Crescent Discs label.
07.06.20
Nan True’s Hole
Hoping that everyone is keeping well and safe and thanks to Luciano Margorani for his great version of Nan True’s Hole, which you can watch on his Facebook page here.
GPD European Tour 1972
In these uncertain times, with many of us having to isolate, we’d like to thank Aymeric for a very welcome distraction in the form of this extensive, four-hour collection.
“Painstakingly assembled from disparate cassettes found in the personal collections of both Phil and Steve Miller, this is as complete a documentation as possible of the low-key European tour undertaken by the trio of Steve Miller (piano), Lol Coxhill (soprano sax, vocals) and Laurie Allan (drums) in October and November 1972…” 
Fred Baker Trio – Truly Yours
Watch The Fred Baker Trio playing Truly Yours live from November 2019.
14.03.20
Phil On Composing
Listen to Phil discussing the process of composing in this conversation with Henk Weltevreden.
07.03.20
New Master Class – Green & Purple
Watch our latest master class with Fred Baker.
“This master class shows how Phil’s use of the whole form of the symmetric scale in Green and Purple is actually the up-side-down version which gives you a whole different set of harmony and chords.”
01.03.20
Rarely Heard Recording
Thanks again to Aymeric for this almost never heard In Cahoots recording for VPRO radio in The Netherlands from October 1989.
“Fans of the band will recognise the opening track, For The Moment, as the same version heard on the Live 86-89 album, but the rest of the concert had never been heard before. I’s quite a unique mix of InCa staples like Above and Below and the Medley, and material rarely if at all heard elsewhere…”
22.02.20
Delivery Brighton 1972 Restored
Thanks to Aymeric for restoring this very old audio cassette recording from September 1972 of Delivery playing live in Brighton.
“This version of Delivery, a prototype of Hatfield and the North with Steve Miller on electric piano, was short-lived and played only a handful of gigs, so we are lucky to have any document from this period…”
16.02.20
New Recording Found
Today we uploaded a newly found live recording of In Cahoots live in Wuppertal from 1986. We posted the first three numbers of this gig a while back, but this tape, found elsewhere in Phil’s collection, has almost the entire concert.
08.02.20
New Master Class
We have just added another of Fred Baker’s fantastic guitar master classes. Here he covers Phil’s classic Truly Yours which was first recorded for Split Second shortly after Fred joined the band.
02.02.20
Fred Baker Trio – Delta Borderline
Watch Fred Baker and his trio, Nick Twyman (drums) and Mickey O’Brian (bass) perform Delta Borderline from November last year.
25.01.20
Fred Baker Trio with Nick Twyman on drums and Mickey O’Brian, bass guitar playing Delta Borderline at Northern Light Cinema Wirksworth on 24th Nov 2019.
Tomorrow 22nd January is Phil’s Birthday. Had he lived he would have been 71. We have not forgotten you Phil and we have not been idle. We have finished editing the film from the Tribute Concert PHIL MILLER – A LIFE IN MUSIC at the Vortex on Jan 6th 2019 and we are waiting for the soundtrack to be edited, so you will soon be able to see the results here on the website.
Another piece of good news is that the long – awaited second Miller/Baker Duo CD is on its way! Phil and Fred Baker have been recording the music for this CD ever since they brought out the original CD DOUBLE UP in 1992. It has been an ongoing project that occupied them every time Fred came to stay with us, whether he came for In Cahoots rehearsals, the Guildhall Summer School, gigs or whatever, he and Phil would be working away in his studio. When Phil died and Fred and I looked for this material. We were mystified as search as we might we just couldn’t find it. More than 2 years later I found the tapes! They had been there all along but I had foolishly thought they were video tapes that I had been unable to play. This is because the recording had been done via Phil’s ADAT machine which uses 8 track tapes that look identical to the old video tapes of yesteryear. The wonderful Benj Lefevre took them to a studio in Brixton and had them transposed into WAV files and has been busy mixing the tracks. We hope to bring out the new CD DOUBLE UP 2 in the not too distant future under the Crescent Disc label.
And from Italy comes the news that the Artchipel Orchestra have just finished recording a tribute CD to Phil, featuring the titles Truly Yours, Eastern Region, Second Sight,Above and Below, Calyx, Godsong and Nan True’s Hole. This CD will be coming out in the spring. It will be fascinating to hear Phil’s music being played by this brilliant group.
And for his birthday here is the latest of my series of portraits:
Herm
In Cahoots Vortex 2009
Watch In Cahoots live at the Vortex Jazz Club from November 2009.
19.01.20
Phil on Medley
Listen to Phil being interviewed by Aymeric about Medley along with some live footage.
10.01.20
In Cahoots Padova 1991
Watch more In Cahoots live in Italy at Banale, Padova from May 1991.
29.12.19
In Cahoots Pavia 1990
Watch In Cahoots live in Italy from May 1990.
14.12.19
Hatfield and the North Elephant’s Coda
Thanks to Aymeric for this great Hatfield clip.
02.12.19
In Cahoots St Jean aux Bois 1998
I’d first heard the horn-less quartet version of In Cahoots in September 1997 in Groningen, on what was likely its debut, and liked the trimmed-down approach very much, so I couldn’t possibly miss their brief tour of France in March 1998. So I found myself driving to St Jean aux Bois, a small village near Compiègne, about 45 minutes drive North of Paris. The venue ‘Les Naiades’ was a friendly little sort of inn with even a fireplace on the side of the stage. Longtime friend/supporter, Serge Wodrascka (who can be heard sitting in on Above And Below) put on gigs there into the 2000s and Canterbury Scene bands like Pip Pyle’s Bash and Hugh Hopper’s Franglo Band were some of the other bands I later saw there – not to mention the trio + guest version of In Cahoots in 2001, documented elsewhere on this site. Eventually, the place was filled with about 50 people, who were treated to a performance consisting of two lengthy sets, with familiar material like Above And Below and No Holds Barred as well as pieces I’d never heard before, Pete’s Big Dick and Fred’s Upside (during which a couple stood up and danced, much to the band’s surprise!), both of which would appear five years later on All That, re-arranged for the sextet.
13.11.19
18th October 2019
This is the second anniversary of the death of Phil Miller.
Here is a painting of Phil that I completed recently.
Can I please ask you all on this day to click the link to listen to this piece of Phil’s music?
It is the 6th track from the album Split Seconds and only lasts for 3.30 minutes.
It is called “I Remain”
Phil may have died but his music remains alive.
My heartfelt thanks to you all for doing this in his memory today.
Herm
In Cahoots Immenstadt Austria 1987
Watch In Cahoots (Phil, Elton, Steve Franklyn, Pip & Hugh) live at The Rainbow, Immenstadt, Austria, from 28th November 1987.
Despite the quality of this ancient recording, this early In Cahoots gig is well worth a look, especially for the great Pip Pyle drum solo.
16.10.19
Hatfield & the North Central TV 1990
Progman Cometh Seattle 2002
Watch In Cahoots at the Moore Theatre, Seattle from the 18th August 2002.
22.08.19
New Video Interviews
Today we added seven new interview excerpts to our interviews page, including more from Doug Boyle, Jack Monck, Jim Dvorak and Pete Lemer, and new interviews with Marc Hadley, Sarah Gail and Simon Picard.
14.08.19
Canterbury Legends 2007 Videos
Watch four videos of Canterbury Legends live in Cluny from 2007.
31.07.19
New Interviews Page
We have just added a new page of video interview excerpts that Aymeric Leroy conducted with a number of musicians that had worked with Phil over many years.
21.07.19
Green and Purple
Here is a drawing of Phil made by Guido Spring’s six year old son Jasper.
Great drawing Jasper!
05.07.19
Hatfield and the North – Son of There’s No Place Like Homerton – 1974
In April/May 1974, Hatfield and the North played a series of ‘big band’ concerts, of which Dave Stewart’s epic (Son Of) There’s No Place Like Homerton was the highlight. Sadly, none of the three shows were filmed, but we have Kim Fyson to thank for some truly wonderful photos of the Cambridge gig…
02.07.19
Canterbury Legends (In Their Own Lunchtime) Bourgoin ’08
Watch Phil, Hugh Hopper, Didier Malherbe, Patrice Meyer, Alex Maguire and Manuel Denizet perform at the SMAC Les Abattoirs in Bourgoin-Jallieu, near Lyon, France, from May 2008.
20.06.19
In Cahoots live in Paris ’85
Listen to In Cahoots live in Paris from 1985.
16.06.19
Phil Miller Guitar prize
Tomorrow evening (10.06.19) Fred Baker and John Etheridge will be judging the Phil Miller Guitar Prize at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
Click Here for more information and tickets.
09.06.19
Calyx, arranged by Luciano Margorani
Thanks to Luciano for this great arrangement.
“A homage to Phil Miller and his amazing composition “Calyx”
I used the original track from Hatfield’s first album and changed it a bit with my computer.
You can hear Phil with Robert Wyatt, Richard Sinclair, Pip Pyle and Dave Stewart.
Recorded at Tappo studios in February 2019.
RIP Phil, you’ll be forever in my heart.”
05.06.19
In Cahoots at The Bull & Gate 1982
Click here to listen to our earliest live recording of In Cahoots.
29.05.19
NEW PAGE: Fred T Baker’s Guitar Master Classes
Click here to watch Fred’s video master class on Phil’s classic composition, God Song.
In this first of a series, Fred takes a fascinating and detailed look into one of Phil’s earlier pieces, explaining not only how to play it but also shares his great expertise on why it is such a great piece of music.
DON’T MISS THIS!
Fred T Baker New Trio:
with Micky O’brien (bass) and Nick Twyman (drums)
Playing music by Phil Miller and Fred T Baker
Wednesday 17th April 2019
Lichfield, Cathedral Hotel, Beacon St. WS13 7AR.
Doors open 7:15 pm, music at 8:00 pm
£10 / £12 students £5
Book in advance: lichfieldarts.org.uk
Short Wave – Bresse-sur-Grosne – 1991
Billed here as Hugh Hopper and Friends, these two sets were recorded in France in November 1991.
14.03.19
New Score
We have just added Phil’s score for Your Root 2, along with his notes, to our dots page.
26.01.19
Birthday Tribute
Hi everyone, here is a link to a wonderful birthday tribute to Phil from Billie Bottle. Please listen to it. It is Billie singing lyrics using 22 titles of Phil’s music played to a version of Above and Below. It is beautiful and only takes a few minutes.
Herm x
For those of you not on Facebook, you can find it here on YouTube.
Phil Miller Memorial Concert
Phil’s Memorial Concert took place on Sunday 6th Jan to packed houses – There was hardly room to breathe but that didn’t stop the cheering! All the musicians played magnificently and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all 21 of them from the bottom of my heart. It was a stunning performance all round and enthusiastically received by the audience. We have had a bagful of enthusiastic emails from musicians and audience members alike. It was a night I shall never forget.
We filmed and recorded the entire event and will eventually post a good selection of pieces up on this site. It will take some time to edit the footage and mix the recording and I will only be posting numbers one at a time as they are finished and approved by all concerned.
We would love to hear from anyone who was there and would love to post your photos and comments on this site, so please send them in.
In the meantime Jonathan Coe has written a review of the concert for the latest edition of the NEW STATESMAN, Phil Howitt has put a review on his site. Sergio Amadori has written this review on Hibou Anemone & Bear, and Mike Barnes will reviewing the concert for PROG magazine.
Herm
JUST IN: Jakko Jakszyk will be now be flying in tomorrow to perform at both concerts, after Carol Grimes had to sadly pull out earlier today.
18:30 – 5 Jan 2019
Phil Miller commemorative T-shirts
£15 each – available at the venue on the day of the concerts in a variety of sizes.
Updated rolling news about the Phil Miller memorial concert: again we are sorry to say that Didier Malherbe is still recovering from his accident and won’t be able to be at the concert. We wish him well in his recovery. Trevor Tomkins has also had to pull out due to ill health. Get well soon Trevor. Paul Booth has accepted an Australian tour which prevents him attending and Jakko Jakszyk is heartbroken to say he has to pull out due to a family crisis . We hope this does not disappoint anyone too much. We are looking forward to seeing you all on 6th Jan. The concert has been oversubscribed and sadly a lot of people have been unable to buy tickets. If anyone who doesn’t live too far away from the Vortex is interested: the Vortex is going to live stream the music from the concerts to the bar downstairs so that musicians can relax downstairs and still be able to hear when they should make their way upstairs. Also we are having the concerts filmed and recorded and we will be putting this on this site during the course of next year. Commemorative T-shirts will be for sale, probably downstairs as it will be too crowded to do it upstairs. We still have a few of Phil’s CDs – mainly Mind overMatter and Out of the Blue, which we will give away on the 6th. Make sure you get your copy.
Herm
Click here to listen to Radio Story about sounds of London, inspired by Phil Miller and made by Guido Spring.
Click to Listen to National Health play Fourfold from 1979 and watch one of Aymeric’s slideshows of the musicians.
ALL TICKETS TO BOTH CONCERTS ARE NOW SOLD OUT!
GOOD NEWS! THE VORTEX JAZZ WEBSITE IS NOW SELLING TICKETS FOR PHIL’S CONCERT ON 6TH JAN AT THE VORTEX JAZZ CLUB
The Phil Miller Memorial Concert – Jan 6th – two concerts 4pm and 8pm at The Vortex, Dalston, London E8 – tickets £15 for single concert or £25 for both.
Featuring a total of 25 renowned musicians, performing a wide selection of Phil’s music, across two concerts on one night.
We were going to set a normal price for tickets along with a concession rate but were told by the club that was not possible, so we are selling ALL tickets at the concession rate! The Vortex is a small venue so ticket numbers are limited: book early so as not to miss out.
Go to this page on the Vortex website to see the musicians who will be playing and buy your tickets.
Keep up to date by visiting the legacy site where we will be posting rolling news.
HERM
Lol Coxhill Interview |
17.10.18 – KYLE |
Listen to Aymeric Leroy interview Lol Coxhill and listen to Phil and Lol playing together.
In Cahoots Radio Bremen 1986 |
10.10.18 – AYMERIC |
Click to listen to an In Cahoots Radio Bremen broadcast from 20 May 1986
In Cahoots Utrecht 1986 |
03.10.18 – AYMERIC |
Hatfield & the North live in London November 1972 |
27.09.18 – AYMERIC |
Click here to listen to and download very, very early Hatfield and the North, only weeks after they changed their name from Delivery and Dave Sinclair replaced Steve Miller – plus guest appearances from Lol Coxhill and Robert Wyatt.
Hugh Hopper & Friends (Short Wave) at Europa Jazz Festival, Le Mans 1991 |
23.09.18 – AYMERIC |
Steve Miller All Saints 1994 |
20.09.18 – KYLE |
Watch Phil’s brother Steve play and be interviewed for Wire TV
In Cahoots Le Triton 2003 |
09.09.18 – AYMERIC |
National Health – A Fleeting Glance 80 |
31.08.18 – AYMERIC |
Watch National Health perform A Fleeting Glance.
Miller/Lemer duo Netherlands 95 |
27.08.18 – AYMERIC |
Phil & Fred Belgium ’95 |
24.08.18 – AYMERIC |
The Miller/Baker duo from Belgium in April 1995 Click here to listen and read Aymeric’s notes.
In Cahoots Penny Theatre part two (possibly) |
16.08.18 – AYMERIC |
This tape was labelled In Cahoots Boat Race 1994 but this seems to be an error. The year is clearly wrong – InCa only played one gig in all of 1994, it’s the Jazz Café (aka Halloween) recording. The band did play the Boat Race in Cambridge, but in December 1995, so that is very likely it, especially since the gig includes early versions of the Parallel repertoire which didn’t yet exist in 1994. Now what’s interesting is that this would be the day after the Canterbury Penny Theatre recording, but with absolutely NO overlap in the set list, which leads me to wonder if they could not be two halves of the same gig. We may never know – there doesn’t seem to be much contextual information in Phil’s typically concise stage announcements. In any case taken together they form a great document of that particular tour, with what I suppose is the complete repertoire played on it. Click here to listen or download.
In Cahoots Italy 1991 |
14.08.18 – AYMERIC |
Watch In Cahoots live in Pavia from June 1991
In Cahoots Canterbury 1995 |
11.08.18 – AYMERIC |
Click here to listen to In Cahoots live at the Penny Theatre in Canterbury from 1995
Short Wave – 2PM |
08.08.18 – AYMERIC |
Click here to watch Short Wave live at Gong 25 from 1994
New score for Digging In |
04.08.18 – KYLE |
Click here to download Phil’s score and notes for Digging In. Click here to listen to the album.
In Cahoots Wuppertal 1986 |
02.08.18 – AYMERIC |
Short Wave – Shuffle Demons |
31.07.18 – AYMERIC |
Watch Short Wave perform Shuffle Demons at Gong 25. Click here to watch
New Score added – Truly Yours |
30.07.18 – KYLE |
Today we added Phil’s score and notes for his composition Truly Yours, which can be found on the album Split Seconds. Click here to view this and other scores.
Portrait of Phil by Herm |
28.07.18 – HERM |
See Herm’s latest portrait of Phil and view a slideshow of how it was done. Click here to view
Short Wave – The Balladin |
25.07.18 – AYMERIC |
Watch Short Wave perform The Balladin live in this video Click here to watch now
In Cahoots Paris 1993 complete gig |
18.07.18 – AYMERIC |
IN CAHOOTS live at New Morning, Paris from 19 March 1993. Now without the missing beginning Click here to listen now
In Cahoots Vortex 2008 |
15.07.18 – AYMERIC |
IN CAHOOTS live at the Vortex Jazz Bar in Hackney, London from 10 June 2008. Click here to listen now
Remastered National Health Kansas 1979 plus all new material |
11.07.18 – AYMERIC |
Thanks to Aymeric Leroy for this remastered recording of National Health live in Lawrence, Kansas, which now includes, the entire gig along with some historic demos recorded a few days earlier. Click here to listen now
New Interviews page |
07.07.18 – KYLE |
Today we have added some magazine interviews with Phil (and Fred Baker) from the 90s. Click here to visit now
Steve Miller / Lol Coxhill 1974 |
03.07.18 – HERM |
Steve Miller and Lol Coxhill on the 1974 Virgin Crisis Tour Click here to listen or download
Hatfield and the North 2005 |
23.06.18 – KYLE |
Reformed Hatfield and the North live from Club Citti, Tokyo from October 2005 Click here to listen or download
National Health Kansas 1979 |
23.06.18 – KYLE |
National Health live in Lawrence, Kansas from November 1979 Click here to listen or download
In Cahoots St. Jean-aux-Bois 2001 |
18.06.18 – DOUG |
In Cahoots live at St. Jean-aux-Bois, Les Naïades (near Compiègne, France) from June 2 2001 Click here to listen or download
Hatfield and the North Pennsylvania 2006 |
15.06.18 – KYLE |
Video of Hatfield and the North live at the Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem PA, 2006 Click here to watch now
Hatfield and the North New York 2006 |
12.06.18 – KYLE |
Video of Hatfield and the North live at the Bowery Poetry Club, New York, 2006 Click here to watch now
New score added |
11.06.18 – KYLE |
Just added Phil’s score for Eastern Region to our dots page along with his original notes.
Historic TV footage of very early Canterbury music |
05.06.18 – KYLE |
We have just finished digitising an old DVD of Phil’s containing historic TV footage of National Health, Soft Machine, Caravan and Kevin Ayers. Watch a young Michael Parkinson interview Soft Machine and Annie Nightingale introduce National Health on the Old Grey Whistle Test. Click here to watch now.
In Cahoots live in Osaka |
02.06.18 – HERM |
In December 1991 Phil took In Cahoots on tour to Japan. The line-up was Phil Miller on guitar, Fred Baker on bass guitar, Pete Lemer on keyboards, Pip Pyle on drums, Elton Dean on saxes and Jim Dvorak on trumpet, playing all Phil Miller compositions. In Cahoots played four concerts in Osaka and Tokyo. The CD Phil Miller In Cahoots Live in Japan was taken from these concerts. This recording is the concert in Osaka December 12th 1991. Click here to listen or download now.
In Cahoots on BBC Radio 3’s Jazz Today 1983 |
21.05.18 – KYLE |
Listen to early Inca playing Second Sight and Your Root 2, as recorded for BBC Radio 3’s Jazz Today programme in 1983. Recorded from the radio onto reel-to-reel tape by Phil’s father-in-law and my grandfather, Gordon. Click here to listen now.
Original videos |
16.05.18 – KYLE |
Today we have added a new videos page, on which we will be publishing original and otherwise unseen footage. These files have been digitised from Phil’s own collection of DVDs and VHS tapes, as well as contributions from our visitors. The first video is a two hour In Cahoots gig, recorded in Tokyo from December 2001. Click here to watch it now.
In Cahoots live at New Morning Paris 1993 |
28.04.18 – DOUG |
“This excellent quality DAT tape was digitised by Herm from Phil’s private collection of numerous DATs. This is a line up of In Cahoots without any keyboards at all leaving Phil as the sole chordal voice in a music which is packed with dense harmonic information (of course the bass player can always have a bit of go with chords too but it’s probably courtesy to make it clear that it’s the same money). It is testament to the quality of the compositions that Phil has chosen his chording in this format to be sparse and understated enough to put fuller focus on the horn lines, this bringing a fascinating new perspective on the In Cahoots music and interaction of the musicians. Jim’s sound in particular really rings out throughout…” Click to visit page
Featured on KKFI 90.1FM tonight |
13.04.18 – KYLE |
Thanks to our friend Rick Chafen, Kansas City Community Radio (KKFI 90.1 FM) will be broadcasting some of our previously unreleased material tonight on the show The Real Deal at 19:00 CDT. Once a month, Rick co-hosts the show, on what is known as Obscuropean Fridays. If you are in the Kansas City area, you can tune in on 90.1 on your FM band, otherwise there is a live stream that can be found at kkfi.org ; below is a snippet of Rick’s introduction to the show. “I never knew that a band called Delivery had a 30-minutes spotlight on the BBC. But now it’s been made available thanks to philmillerthelegacy.com. In some ways, Delivery became a sort of proto-Hatfield and the North. The 1970 performance includes three players who would form the Hatfields. Delivery was the first proper band that Phil Miller and Pip Pyle had together and they would play in the same bands until Pip’s death (right after a gig) in 2006. I can promise you a whole lot more music from Phil’s various bands will soon be featured.” Click here to read it all and tune in if you can.
New YouTube videos added |
12.04.18 – HERM |
Today we have added six new YouTube videos, including a tribute by Fred Baker recorded on Phil’s birthday this year. Click to visit page.
New score – Green & Purple |
10.04.18 – KYLE |
We have just posted Phil’s score and notes for Green & Purple. Next up will be Eastern Region. Click to visit page
Phil & Fred – Japan – 1991
Phil Miller and Fred Baker live at the Roppongi Pit Inn, Tokyo, Japan, 21.12.1991. With surprise guests… In Cahoots bassist Fred Baker is a premium musician of many facets. He is a Professor of music at the Birmingham Conservatoire, a composer and a fully featured guitar whizz. While anyone present when Fred (in bass mode) hits his Fuzz Pedal of Ultimate and Terminal Filth will know how his passion for motorbikes has informed his musical character, the more refined and introspective side of him found a perfect expression in his guitar duo with Phil heard on the exquisite Double Up album. Fred was always highly attuned to the emotional twists and turns in Phil’s compositions and I love his harmonic overlays and commentary. It takes a musician of uncommon sensitivity to expand on Phil’s harmonic systems without overwhelming their economy; nothing in Phil’s music happened by accident and in Fred he found a foil as meticulous and detail conscious as himself. Here Phil and Fred appear at the famous Roppongi Pit Inn, Tokyo for a set of palpable intimacy that morphs into one of the gutsiest and most spiritually assertive gigs I have heard. I’ve mentioned before that Eastern Region is one of my absolute fave Phil tunes and it’s lovely to hear it’s poignant English character kicking off the set here. In contrast Nowadays a Silhouette adopts an evocatively languid continental mood in this format. Another gear change and Fred spins lines of octave leaping gypsy nonchalance on Underdub before chopping out melodies in ferocious fifths a la Wes Montgomery. There is no mystery at all why Fred had his right hand patented (only he is allowed to use it). Fred’s composition For Christine is given a perfectly crafted and delicate arrangement and Phil and Fred truly lock in as one entity. The playing here from both is touchingly peaceful and focused. Above and Below is one of Phil’s most monumental compositions. This version has an unmatched gravitas and at this point Phil announces the first in a series of very special guests… As the evening progresses Second Sight, in particular steams along thrillingly and I would like to draw your attention here to a delightful example of Phil’s examplary rhythm playing. …so, without giving too much away, it’s sufficient to say that all participants are on joyously lunatic form, and so will you be after experiencing this testament to a very special evening that is best experienced in one chunk of listening pleasure, as it happened, and without skipping ahead for sneak previews!
Click to listen
05.04.18 – DOUG
National Health – Maassluis – 1979
National Health live at Toverbal Club, Maassluis (Netherlands) 29/3/1979 Phil Miller – guitar Alan Gowen – keyboards John Greaves – bass and vocals Pip Pyle – drums Thanks to Rick Chafen for this file and thank you also to Aymeric Leroy for identifying the date and location. These are two men I will be thanking a lot more… This is a very tight mic recording close to the stage in a fairly acoustically dead venue. Buzzing and occasionally drop-outs notwithstanding the balance is excellent. The Alan Gowen line up of National Health was a somewhat looser affair than the Dave Stewart led version. Phil and Alan’s compositions still had enough twists and turns to keep all the musicians in a constant state of insomnia inducing, buttock-clenching anxiety (I’d have thought) but the blowing sections are noticeably more liquid and jazzier in feel. These are my personal highlights;- John Greaves’ Squarer for Maud is an absolute delight; like wondering through a series of chambers. Each with it’s own surprising and unique decor but all forming a satisfying integrity of form (whatever that means). Astonishingly inventive and fluid solo from Phil who typically operates his wah pedal in the opposing direction than any other guitarist would have done. ‘Playing backwards’ is a comment I’ve heard about Phil’s playing more than once but, to slightly paraphrase a Stewartism, he was in fact playing forwards in a backwards world. Following on from this display and not be outdone, a fully goaded Alan Gowen brings us a Rhodes solo that sparkles like a rare gem. Key centre shifting wildly around in a manner hinted at in some unearthly chording earlier in the piece. This cut is triumphant. Phil’s classic Dreams Wide Awake is a really flowing affair by this point. The exquisite lines heard on the album version have an even more conversational and engaging character here. J Greaves and P Pyle are just so damn slinky and sinous. Compared to the intricate elegance of Neil Murray, Greaves approach has a little more ‘tude and a nice filthy punch in his tone without sacrificing elegance. Highly contrasting but I love them both, right. Playtime is a lovely, suspenseful composition by Alan Gowen (and originally heard with Gilgamesh). Every Phil solo has it’s own character and this one has an ironic sneering quality and a slight haughty air before dropping down an octave into some downright sleazy bends. Phil was generally warm and avancular but scrutiny of stage patter reveals Phil had some tech issues this night and fancy I can hear a bit of the ruffled mood of the man here and I think it’s great! Nowadays a Silhouette is a piece of open character in marked contrast to most of Phil’s compositions. Were almost back to Matching Mole conceptually. Lovely dynamic drop into Alan Gowen’s synth solo with Pip creeping supportively in behind. The feeling of space and lightness enhanced by an inspired Greaves who flows beautifully all over the neck. This is top flight musicianship that you would associate with fusion and progressive music but actually exists set apart and in it’s own category, all due to the wit, humanity, and depth of vision of the participants.
Click to listen
30.03.18 – DOUG
Welcome to our new homepage
Thank you to everyone who has visited, engaged with and contributed to the site. Due to the enthusiastic interest in the new material we have been posting, we have decided to use this page as a blog, to provide up-to-date news of recent and upcoming uploads. If you would like to receive email notifications of new posts, use the ‘Subscribe’ section on the left of this page. We will also be using this feed to post any other items of interest that we, or you, might find. We are continuing to digitise Phil’s collection of DAT, Audio cassettes and VHS tapes. We will shortly be uploading a video of In Cahoots playing live at The Love Generation Festival in Japan. We also have a remarkable video with some very early TV recordings of National Health, which also includes In Cahoots band members such as Richard Sinclair in an extremely early Caravan broadcast and Elton Dean and Hugh Hopper with early Soft Machine including Robert Wyatt, not long out of school, before he grew his hair, along with Kevin Ayres and The Whole World.
29.03.18 – HERM