Wandering into jazz in central Iowa

Appreciating Damani Phillips and Grinnell College

Over the weekend, I visited Grinnell College, my alma mater, to attend a retirement celebration for the professor who was most influential for me. A group of us wandered around the campus and the vibrant small town in the middle of Iowa, soaking up sights and sounds, meeting people, just like we did as students. With the kind of good fortune I took for granted 35 years ago, we ran into a Saturday afternoon jazz concert in the relatively new Sebring-Lewis Hall of the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts. It was a trio performance including Hammond B3 organist Pat Bianchi, drummer Jim White, and Damani Phillips, alto saxophonist and assistant professor of music at Grinnell. The afternoon event was a preview of the evening concert of the Grinnell College Jazz Ensemble, which Phillips directs, with Bianchi and White as guests artists.

Phillips stocked the hourlong program with several altoist-related tunes, such as:

• "Lisa" — Cannonball Adderley
• "Isfahan" — Strayhorn and Ellington, but also Johnny Hodges, whom I believe Phillips was channeling in the first part of this solo
• "Sing a Song of Song" — Kenny Garrett

I sensed that his solos in each tune were intended to illustrate the stylistic differences among the pieces and their contexts. In this way, I suspect that he may be a powerful and generous teacher, and the students are fortunate to have him.

Bianchi demonstrated the emotional intensity of the B3, while White showed a dynamic range, from quiet to thundering. 

I’ve included a video of Phillips leading a student combo at Bob’s Underground Cafe, a student-run coffee house on campus. Listen to the piano!