Mike Phillips - Uncommon Denominator
List Price:
Our Price: $4.90
You Save: $12.08 (71%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.16 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Artist: Mike PhillipsEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-07-26
Music Label: Hidden Beach
Soundtracks:
- Once Again Mike Phillips (Interlude)
- Uncommon Denominator
- Crazy
- Heartbeat Of The City
- If It Takes All Night
- Minnie
- G-Money
- Don't Panic
- We Are One
- Fiesta
- 86th & Broadway
- Uptown On A Saturday Night
- Flow
- Brent's Bounce
- If U Had A Heart
- Mike & Michaella (Interlude)
Free Music Notes for Uncommon Denominator
Free Music Review: What'z Up Wit Cha? Mike Phillips
Hit: 5 Stars
Saxophone players are not unusual to the world of music but when you find one whose influences have stemmed from his love of Hip Hop plus traditional jazz music, you got something pretty special on your hands. To be exact, you have an ''Uncommon Denominator'' that is indivisible by anything that doesn't equate to the love of music.
I caught up with Hidden Beach Recording Artist Mike Phillips one Tuesday evening while he was on the road in Cleveland, OH and we ''chopped it up'' about the music game, his dedication there of and his passion for keeping the arts alive.
Sheila Chadwick (S) - Michael, how are you?
Mike Phillips (MP) - I'm good, I'm good.
S - Cool. I'm glad that I finally caught up to you. How's your daughter?
MP - Oh she's fine. I was just on the phone talking to her. You know I got to talk to her.
S - How old is she?
MP - Seven
S - Oh yeah, I remember. I had ''two'' seven year olds at the same time so I know how that is.
MP - Yep! That's my daughter singing on the last song on my CD. I'm actually going to pick up a tape of her singing her first solo in church.
S - Wow, so I see whose following in whose footsteps.
MP - Yep, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
S - Well let's talk and let me take it back to the beginning. What influenced your decision to become a musician? How did that happen?
MP - It felt natural. It's always about things feeling right. I rented an instrument. I played in church. I just practiced a lot. I played by ear. I tried to follow Coltrane and Dexter Gordon. I had my first gig at the age of 17 and if felt good to work and get paid. I was playing in clubs and I was so glad because I was following my dream.
S - So how did you manage to get in the clubs at 17?
MP - I told them I was in college. They didn't trip. They'd pay me $10 to get home and I was happy because I was doing what I liked and then I knew that I wanted to do this for a living. When a career can feel like a hobby, it's a career!
S - So is this career what you always wanted?
MP - I didn't care what it took, I wanted to do this for a living.
S - I've met and spoken with some musicians and singers who knew from the start that they'd end up someday working along side the artist that they most admired. Did you always know or feel that you'd end up working with people like Stevie Wonder or Prince?
MP - No, no, not me! I was with Stevie in Paris and it just blows me away. Stevie called me and wished me a Happy Thanksgiving and I hung up the phone like wow that was Stevie! Indulging in another's art form is a privilege because I am absorbing in the perspective of their genius.
S - Wow, that's a hell of a statement, very profound.
MP - Being around people like Stevie and Prince is a whole other level of pinching your self. It's an honor...for real because I know that I am in the mist of greatness.
S - Prince said your playing made him want to ''rise up'' to it when he went back on stage at one particular concert. How did it make you feel to hear him say that?
MP - At first, I just froze. It was almost unbelievable. I take the compliment...actually, any compliment in the highest regard. Having a gift is like owning a pearl. When you have a precious gemstone you treasure it and your careful of how you handle it. Like that pearl, I try to keep my gift (because that's what it is) centered around people who appreciate it just like reserving that pearl to the highest esteem. I want to be around people that value the music.
S - You can't help but to value the music you play. It's so beautiful and your very talented, to say the least. Now I know you're on the road and I don't want to take up too much of your time.
MP - Oh no, it's cool. We got to talk about Uncommon Denominator.
S - Ok, cool. So explain to me what that term, ''Uncommon Denominator'' meant to you with regard to your using it as the title of this project?
MP - This title is about understanding that I don't want to sound like anyone else. My style is like taking two uncommon situations of loving Hip Hop and traditional jazz and both to allowing me to express my love for each in my way. It's about having no one control my style.
S - Is that what you found at Hidden Beach meaning, a label that allows you to do you?
MP - Hidden Beach was a blessing. They allowed me to do me and stay true to myself. I am 100% happy there.
S - So are you pleased with the way your CD is going and the response so far?
MP - Yes, I am very pleased with the way my CD is going. It's about growth and being different. I grow the foundation on a daily basis.
S - So you are performing in Chicago this weekend at the Parkwest, on Armitage Avenue along with Will Downing and Regina Belle and I know this because I made my plans weeks ago to be there.
MP - So you're coming out?
S - Oh yes sir, I'll be there! I love you, Will's my man and Regina Belle is just the bomb. That's going to be an amazing show. I interviewed Will in October so to have all three of you on one show is going to be a treat, to say the least. How did you get hooked up on that show?
MP - I'm actually on tour doing several shows and Will called me and asked if I'd like to open up for him.
S - So were you guy's friends?
MP - We'd always bump into each other. I sat in on a couple of gigs with him and we talked about trying to do something together.
S - Wow, so this must have been meant to be. So do you have a lot of dates or some breaks in between?
MP - I'm actually touring like crazy. I'm out with Venus and Serena Williams on the U.S. Open Ronald McDonald House charity tour and I'm also involved with the Sax in The Schools project. I go out and talk to kids about music with hope so motivating them. It's hard because so many schools have cut their programs.
S - We (WOTS) have recently ''adopted'' an organization called Music in Schools Today for that same reason. The plan is to develop something to raise funds to donate to them. Both of my daughter's are in band so I know the importance of having music in schools.
MP - So what do they play?
S - One is on the flute and the other plays the Alto Sax.
MP - I was gonna say that somebody was gonna have to give up their instrument if either one wasn't playing a sax!
S - Well, that's what they picked. I commend you for doing that.
MP - Everything that I involve myself in is for a purpose. You just gotta give back. It's the only way you receive.
S - Yep, you are right about that. Now I also happen to know that you are the first jazz musician to have a sneaker endorsement by a major manufacturer. Did I get that right?
MP - Well, the story is that I met Michael Jordan from my performing the National Anthem at some of the NBA games and he approached me with the thought that it would be cool to have someone else who wasn't an athlete to represent his line. I started that 5 years ago with the Air Jordan 17.
S - Dang, you just got it going on all the way around!
MP - I'm blessed.
S - So tell me, what is your biggest pet peeve?
MP - I don't like people touching my horn. My horn is like an extension of my body.
S - Whoa, that's deep. Ok, one last question. Give me one word to describe Mike Phillips.
MP - Passionate.
S - What are you passionate about?
MP - Everything. With what I do, you gotta be.
S - Mike, I really enjoyed talking to you.
MP - Same here. This wasn't like an ''interview''. It was more of a conversation.
S - That's how I try to make it. Well, Thanks again and I'll see you Sunday at the show.
MP - Most definitely.
(...)
Jazz Music CDs
Music Genres
Top music charts in Jazz Music CDs
Curtis Brothers Quartet - Blood, Spirit, Land, Water, FreedomRelease date: 2009-10-01; Music CD
![Jazz Casual - 3-Pack Vol. 1 (Count Basie, Carmen McRae, John Coltrane) [VHS] Image](/images/Jazz-Casual-3-Pack-Vol-1-Count-Basie-Carmen-McRae-John-Coltrane-VHS-6305320578-X.jpg)
Jazz Casuals: Coltrane Basie & Mcrae - Jazz Casual - 3-Pack Vol. 1 (Count Basie, Carmen McRae, John Coltrane) [VHS]Rhino / Wea; Release date: 1999-05-04; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.84
Price in other shops:
![Jazz Legend 2 [VHS] Image](/images/Jazz-Legend-2-VHS-6303400787-X.jpg){kind=small}
Buddy Rich - Jazz Legend 2 [VHS]Warner Brothers Pub.; Release date: 2000-10-20; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $11.90
Price in other shops:
![Living Legend of the Electric Guitar [VHS] Image](/images/Living-Legend-of-the-Electric-Guitar-VHS-6302658225-X.jpg){kind=small}
Les Paul - Living Legend of the Electric Guitar [VHS]Bmg Video Label; Release date: 1993-02-09; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $19.95
Price in other shops:
![Hurricane [VHS] Image](/images/Hurricane-VHS-6302251281-X.jpg){kind=small}
Herbie Hancock - Hurricane [VHS]View Video; Release date: 1992-04-07; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $2.50
Cocktails for Twoby band leader Spike Jones, Del Porter, Mel Blanc & Quartet, Jim Cassidy & The City Slickers
Music CD
Best price: $19.95
![Dave Grusin and the NY/LA Dream Band [VHS] Image](/images/Dave-Grusin-and-the-NY-LA-Dream-Band-VHS-6301724496-X.jpg)
Dave Grusin - Dave Grusin and the NY/ LA Dream Band [VHS]Umgd; Release date: 1990-06-26; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $1.99
Price in other shops:
![Diane Schuur & Count Basie Orchestra [VHS] Image](/images/Diane-Schuur-Count-Basie-Orchestra-VHS-630164770X-X.jpg){kind=small}
Count Basie, Diane Schuur - Diane Schuur & Count Basie Orchestra [VHS]Grp Records; Release date: 1996-01-30; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Damals in HamburgRelease date: 1999-08-11; Music CD
Best price: $22.96
Ben Webster - Ben WebsterRelease date: 2006-12-20; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Top Rated Albums
Pieces of a Dream - Pillow TalkRelease date: 2006-03-28; Music CD
Best price: $6.65
Price in other shops:
Paul Hardcastle - Hardcastle VIRelease date: 2011-06-21; Music CD
Best price: $11.23
Price in other shops:
![Pop-Jazz: Volume One [COMPILATION] [SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION] [CD] Image](/images/Pop-Jazz-Volume-One-COMPILATION-SPECIAL-LIMITED-EDITION-CD-B000LVBDFO-X.jpg)
Pop-Jazz: Volume One [COMPILATION] [SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION] [CD]Release date: 2007-07-03; Published: 2006; Music CD
Best price: $1.24
Price in other shops:
Marsha Ambrosius - Late Nights, Early MorningsRelease date: 2011-03-01; Music CD
Best price: $7.78
Price in other shops:
Jill Scott - The Light Of The SunRelease date: 2011-06-21; Music CD
Best price: $7.78
Price in other shops:
Everette Harp - All for YouRelease date: 2008-10-06; Music CD
Best price: $1.29
Price in other shops:
Euge Groove - Seven LargeRelease date: 2011-05-17; Music CD
Best price: $11.28
Price in other shops:
Boney James - ContactRelease date: 2011-03-29; Music CD
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
Mike Phillips - Mp3Release date: 2010-07-27; Music CD
Best price: $8.96
Price in other shops:
Mike Phillips - You Have Reached Mike PhillipsRelease date: 2002-05-14; Music CD
Best price: $3.75
Price in other shops: