In August of 2008, Phil stepped in to the late bassist Dennis Irwin's position with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra to help the band get through a difficult time. At the end of a week run in February of 2009 at the legendary Village Vanguard, the group recorded two nights, which produced the Grammy award winning double CD "Monday Night Live At The Village Vanguard".

For five years prior, Palombi was the bassist for Concord recording artist Curtis Stigers. Backing Curtis took Phil to nearly every continent, performing over 100 dates a year. Playing that many gigs a year with the same band is a rarity these days- a fact that is not lost on Curtis's backing trio. In 2005, they formed the group Tri-Fi, released two CD's, and have garnished rave reviews by such publications as Playlist Magazine, All About Jazz, and The London Times.

In addition to touring and recording as a sideman, Phil has found the time to record a CD as a leader as well as write a book. The book, entitled Scott LaFaro * 15 Solo Transcriptions, is the first book of LaFaro solos ever published. Scott LaFaro was one of the pioneers of jazz bass soloing and this book contains 15 of his solos taken from the Bill Evans recordings Waltz for Debby and Sunday at the Village Vanguard.

Completing the popular LaFaro book opened up a new avenue of expression for the bassist. After attending a master class Phil was presenting at the International Society of Bassists convention in 2005, the editor of Double Bassist magazine hired him to write a five page article for the publication. The article (on Scott LaFaro, of course) was so well received that Phil was asked to write for the magazine on a regular basis, expanding his method of jazz analysis beyond the great LaFaro to other bassists. In addition, a whole new career as clinician began to emerge, with a return appearance at the 2007 ISB conference, as well as master classes at many colleges, with Eastman School of music being the most notable.

In 1999 Palombi recorded his first CD as a leader entitled 80 EAST that features the all-star line up of Joe Labarbera on drums, Harold Danko on piano, and Walt Weiskopf on tenor saxophone. The 12 track disc contains 10 original compositions, five of which are his own. Legendary jazz bassist Richard Davis best sums it up in the liner notes when he says "I have played to this recording many times and not tired of it's performance wizardry".

Phil's studies began at Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University, where he pursued a dual major in Jazz and Classical Performance and Music Education. He studied jazz and classical acoustic bass with Tony Leonardi while keeping up with a heavy load of ensemble rehearsals and concerts. For five years Phil was the bassist for the Down Beat award winning Jazz Ensemble I of Youngstown State, where he played with jazz greats Nick Brignola, Donald Byrd, Terry Clark, Eddie Daniels, Benny Golsen, Duffy Jackson, Chuck Mangione, Bob Mintzer, Marvin Stamm, Lew Tabackin, Bill Watrous, and Jiggs Wigham. Because of this superb jazz program, Phil was selected for the Ohio All-Star College Jazz Ensemble lead by drummer John Von Olen and trombonist John Fedchock in 1993. In addition to his studies, Phil was also a very busy working bassist in the Youngstown, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland music communities. Although he enjoyed his work subbing with the Warren Chamber Orchestra for a few seasons, performing with the Greenville Symphony for two seasons, and becoming a regular member of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra for four years, jazz was becoming his main focus.

By his senior year in 1994, Phil was heavily involved in the Cleveland jazz scene, playing nightly with artists such as Greg Bandy, Ernie Krivda, Chip Stephens, and Dan Wall. As the president of the school's jazz society, Phil was able to obtain funding to bring the legendary jazz bassist Ray Brown to Youngstown for a master class. During Mr. Brown's brief stay, Phil managed to take a private lesson with the master, which ultimately sealed the door to Phil's classical career and set him on the path to becoming a full time jazz bassist.

By the fall of 1995, Phil had caught the ear of trumpet virtuoso Maynard Ferguson, and was offered a job with his new nine piece group Big Bop Nouveau. During his two year tenure with Maynard, he recorded the CD One More Trip to Birdland (for Concord Records), a track for a Concord Christmas CD, and performed on the television shows of Pat Boullard, Crook and Chase, Good Morning Texas and Jazz Central on the B.E.T. Network. After performing with the King of Thailand in Bangkok, Palombi left Maynard to move to New York City, where he currently resides.

Scott Whitfield 2006
Diamonds for Nat
Summit Records

Curtis Stigers 2005
I Think It's Going To Rain Today
Concord Records

Tri-Fi 2005
Tri-Fi
CAP Records

Mark Sherman 2004
The Motive Suite featuring Michael Brecker
CAP Records

Michael Hackett 2004
Circles
Summit Records

Scott Whitfield 2004
Live at Birdland
Summit Records

Sarah Jane Cion 2001
Summernight featuring Michael Brecker
Naxos Records

Michael Amendola 2000
Big Sunflower
DCD Records

Jeff Rihab and the BMI Jazz Orchestra 2000
Under a Topaz Moon featuring Dave Liebman

Sarah Jane Cion 2000
Moonsong featuring Chris Potter
Naxos Records

Phil Palombi 1999
80 EAST

Section 8 1998
In a Minute
Doubletime Records Jazz

Frank Vignola 1998
Rare Beauty: The Ballads Of Duke Ellington
Koch records

Maynard Ferguson 1997
One More Trip to Birdland
Concord Records

Maynard Ferguson 1997
Concord Christmas
Concord Records

Tri-Fi comprises pianist Matthew Fries, drummer Keith Hall, and bassist Phil Palombi. The trio itself is relatively new, this eponymous disc marking its first recording as such; yet Fries, Hall, and Palombi have been playing together for years and working up a considerable rapport as the backing band for Curtis Stigers, who, incidentally, contributes guest vocals to the only non-original track here, the closing "You Go to My Head."

A quick look at the songwriting credits should give some idea what Tri-Fi is about: balance, unity. Fries has penned four tracks, and Hall and Palombi wrote three each. These are spaced accordingly throughout the disc, not divvied up into uniform sections to suggest that one musician/composer should take precedence over another, or that any member of this trio prefers to think of himself in any context other than this one. And it follows, then, that the performances are equally balanced and unified. There is an almost tangible sense of solidarity among these three, and the perpetual forward thrust of the music--ever swinging, ever groovy--conveys this shared purpose and their flawless intercommunication.

"Cross Country" is a relaxed groover, appealingly pop-ish in its way, with some colorful rises and falls in both tension and melody. Palombi takes a great solo, deftly supported by Fries, who sprinkles the perfect supplementing notes when the bassist takes a somewhat unexpected direction. Hall uses his turn to develop a kind of crescendo and release--it isn't meant to dazzle, rather to introduce a new and necessary propulsive quality into the song. Palombi's "My Family" is sweet, wistful, again made great by the trio's smooth interplay. The bassist takes another fine solo here, and the similarities--the lyricism, the flow so natural it seems universally preordained--between his playing and that of Scott LaFaro couldn't be clearer. Therefore it's no great surprise to know that Palombi has transcribed LaFaro's solos from his most famous recordings with the Bill Evans Trio, or that "LaFaro" would be the title of the sixth track, an intricate four-minute homage.

"James," penned by Fries, is bluesy and sparkling, though not quite as bluesy as Hall's "Gotta Give It Up," on which Palombi bows a fiery solo and Hall taps out a head-wagging beat. Palombi bows again throughout the drummer's exquisite waltz-time ballad "Kiri Kiri." On the final (or penultimate, given the optional bonus track) number Curtis Stigers makes good his brief appearance with a classy and heartfelt rendition of "You Go to My Head."

In a twist on the hidden tracks that were all the rage a few years ago, Tri-Fi offers instead an online bonus track that can be downloaded in MP3 or AAC using the code inside the CD jacket. It's a sassy, swinging version of Bernice Petkere's "Lullaby of the Leaves," and a tempting incentive to browse the trio's website after buying Tri-Fi--an outstanding album, and hopefully the first of many from this outfit.

Visit Tri-Fi on the web.

Track listing: Cross Country; My Family; A Point in Time; Good Night Charlie Brown; Gotta Give It Up; James; LaFaro; Kiri Kiri; Hillary Step; Breakthrough; You Go to My Head; Lullaby of the Leaves (web-only bonus track available with purchase of the CD).

Personnel: Matthew Fries: piano; Keith Hall: drums; Phil Palombi: bass; Curtis Stigers: vocals (11).

Style: Mainstream | Published: December 24, 2005

Featured Artist: TRI-FI

CD Title: Postcards

Year: 2007

Record Label: Tri-Fi Music

Style: Straight-Ahead / Classic

Musicians: Matthew Fries (piano), Keith Hall (drums), Phil Palombi (bass), guest artist Steve Wilson (soprano and alto sax) on three tracks

Review: The jazz trio is of course one of the pillars of instrumentation for the expression of jazz music. It contains only the essential ingredients: rhythm, a bass line foundation, and harmonic and melodic voice. In Postcards, Tri-Fi deftly illustrates why the jazz trio is so enduring. This is a wonderful record full of the sunlight and beauty that jazz can be.

Tri-Fi is three young but virtuosic jazz musicians who formed originally as the core band for jazz vocalist and Concord recording artist Curtis Stigers. Backing Stigers on tours since 2003 has given Tri-Fi a wind tunnel in which to test and refine their "aural dynamics" as a trio. The result is tight musicianship that anyone who loves trio jazz can appreciate. Another delightful facet of Postcards is it is comprised entirely of original compositions by the members of Tri-Fi. Pianist Fries (pronounced "Freece") contributed five tunes, drummer Hall added three more, and bassist Palombi topped it off with two of his own. It is unusual to see all three members of a jazz trio contribute to the writing; yet all of the music has consistent quality despite the diversity of the composers. Fries' compositions trend toward easy swing and moody ballads.

The opening track, "The Pumpkin," is a nice swing piece in the tradition of a jazz standard. "Postcards from Abroad," the second track and Fries' second contribution, is a fine emulation of the Pat Metheny "prairie jazz" style. "Hatteras Refection" and "Orchid" are fine ballads. "Orchid" opens with pretty solo piano and is one of the three pieces on the record featuring soprano/alto sax star Steve Wilson (Wilson rose to fame as a sideman for Chick Corea's "Origin" ensemble).

Hall's three pieces are also fine contributions. The highlight is "Creative Force," which uses the entire trio as a percussion instrument (and especially takes advantage of the oft-forgotten fact that the piano is just that). The tune's first three minutes evoke the imagined chaos of the biblical account of creation as God speaks everything into existence; it then breaks abruptly into joyous bop, as if to echo God's declaration that "it is good."

Not to be outdone, bassist Palombi offers two tunes that suggest the life of a touring jazz musician. "Copenhagen" is an up-tempo bebop homage to Palombi's favorite city, and "The Heathrow Shuffle" is a bluesy, mixed-meter tongue-in-cheek play on being caught inside the London airport because of canceled flights (the overdubbed canceled flights announcement at the beginning of the tune is apparently a cameo by Curtis Stigers offering what the liner notes refer to as a "bad English accent"). The tune also features a perfectly suited alto solo by Wilson.

Postcards is fresh, inventive trio jazz that adds another stair step in the musical ascent of these fine young jazz musicians.

Tracks: The Pumpkin, Postcards from Abroad, Wisdom...1st Things 1st, Creative Force, Hatteras Refection, Copenhagen, Orchid, Grace, Penns Creek, The Heathrow Shuffle

Tri-Fi, Postcards

Tri-Fi, (L-R): Keith Hall, Matthew Fries, Phil Palombi.

Fans of vocalist Curtis Stigers have known for years that he is supported by one of the finest and most cohesive rhythm sections in the business. Finally in 2005 pianist Matthew Fries, bassist Phil Palombi, and drummer Keith Hall went off to the studio on their own to document their collaboration as Tri-Fi. Now following their auspicious eponymous debut, the threesome have released Postcards with ten original tracks--five from Fries, three from Hall and two from Palombi. Saxophonist Steve Wilson is featured on several tracks, and even Stigers himself has a few spoken words on the final cut. Noting that most of the compositions were specifically written for this recording, Hall points out that "we also took some chances exploring some different directions, which I think proved to be a lot of fun and very musical." The different directions reflect the stylistic differences among the three composers, creating a divergent set ranging from ballad to straight ahead up tempo to more playful and angular works.

Matthew Fries' originals cover nearly half the disc, his compositions tending to the more cerebral, contemplative, slower paced tracks. Opening with "The Pumpkin," Fries introduces us to his dexterity in creating intricate but accessible lines over a solid vamp foundation. Hall's playful percussion inserts new energy from assorted tactics, building in intensity over the repetitive main lines and ending in a thundering clap. Fries' "Postcards From Abroad" provides the recording's title, a rather subtle tune where repetitive, yet lyrical, exploration rules. "Hatteras Reflections" is a slow, meandering ballad initiated by Palombi's solo of slightly whiney double tones. Fries steps in over the bass chords with a single line lope, and the ensuing interplay between bass and piano is exquisite in timing and harmony. Fries gives his "Orchid" a solitary dark and lush beginning, romantic in the historic sense. Steve Wilson guests on soprano sax, sailing gently over piano and bass, the nucleus of his orbit tight, the contours of his terrain gentle--it all stays close to home but the emotion travels far. On Fries' final contribution, "Penns Creek," Palombi's solo doubletimes the pace, a nice contrast to the balladic pianist, as is the ensembles' mid-track shift in energy and more forward motion.

As one might anticipate from a drummer, Keith Hall's compositions lean more toward deeper swing, more percussive piano lines, and generally more playful rhythms. On "Wisdom...1st Things 1st", Steve Wilson makes his first of three guest appearances, his soprano sax a good fit to Fries' tight meanders and Hall's furious and relentless attack. The drummer's "Creative Force" opens with his stop-and-start antics, joined shortly by Fries with an equally halting presentation of a Monkish blues, using a deep ostinato in his left hand and quirky, sharp-angled figures in the right. There's even a little whiff of Cecil Taylor hanging out among the flow of ideas as Fries and Hall interlock musical minds, the blues groove becoming more prominent, less edgy melodically and more so rhythmically before they return to the opening exchange. Hall's third composition, "Grace," is upbeat, showing off Fries' diverse talents and moods. Of course Hall is prominent as well, working into a frenzy as he rumbles though Fries' shimmering final bar.

Phil Palombi contributes a pair of tracks filled with swinging and even humorous motifs. On "Copenhagen," sequences of repetitive phrases evolve into a swinging, upbeat tune with the bassist doubletiming his pulse while Fries keep up and then some. Palombi's solo pushes a landslide of ideas over a slowed-down piano line before the trio returns to its earlier pace. The closing track, also the longest at over 9 minutes, finds the trio doing the "Heathrow Shuffle," the bassist laying down a bluesy, backwater groove. He's soon joined by Wilson on alto sax, adding a funk touch that evokes Lee Morgan's "Sidewinder." Wilson's lines spiral in and out like a slinky while Fries is at his most charmingly swinging--this could be a soundtrack accompaniment to a zany classic film. The surprise guest here is Tri-Fi's frequent employer, Curtis Stigers, in the spoken role of a Heathrow official, heard warning Hall that he can't go through the security line, Hall begging his bandmates not to leave him behind.

Many journeys fill these Postcards, and each sends an engaging message, giving us good reason to travel with Tri-Fi again and again.

In an interview recorded as an afterthought to American Classic, a 1982 Dexter Gordon session, the then sixty-one year old tenor saxophonist was asked about the future of jazz. He replied, "Bebop is the music of the future." His return to the US from a self imposed exile not only signaled the resurgence of bebop but opened the door for a very young Wynton Marsalis to carry it's banner. As succeeding generations answer the call, Dexter's memory and his cause is in good hands. Case and point, bassist Phil Palombi is a loyal devotee to his calling as a bassist and bop composer.

Palombi's debut as leader was named after the interstate that brought him from the Midwest to New York. Perhaps a more suitable title for this session would have been Palombi and the TDWR band. In what must be considered as recognition of his vast potential as a jazz bassist, his sidemen assembled is a venerable who's-who of jazz-insider faculty. Fellow musicians and knowledgeable jazz fans have been searching out performances of and recordings by Harold Danko, Walt Weiskopf, and Joe Labarbera. Danko, an educator, has recorded with Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Woody Herman, and Gerry Mulligan. His music spans that of John Coltrane and Bill Evans, mixing beautiful ballads with complex structures. Weiskopf also a jazz educator, is an encyclopedia of the tenor. His knowledge of history and sound makes for intelligent and, better yet, swinging recordings. Labarbera is best known as pianist Bill Evans' last drummer, his touch added to the generous vibes Palombi wrote for this session.

Choosing material and writing for his session mates, Palombi chose to accent their musical gifts. The disc opens with the title track, a mid-tempo number that Palombi and Labarbera propel Danko and Weiskopf into quick time changes and slick improvised passages. The band doesn't just burn though, programming several ballads allowed for some solid bass solos that bring perhaps George Mraz or Niels Henning-Orsted Pedersen to mind. A solid session and a fine introduction to the future of jazz envisioned by Dexter Gordon. 80 East is available through www.philpalombi.com.

Track List: 80 East; I Should Care; Intrusion; Second Place; Piano Interlude; Heat; Joe Love; Wigglin' & Squirmin'; Time Remembered; Time Travel; Bass Interlude; Home.

Personnel: Phil Palombi- Bass; Harold Danko- Piano; Joe Labarbera- Drums; Walt Weiskopf- Tenor Saxophone; Sarah Jane Cion- Piano (track 10).