Philip Catherine


Guitarist and composer born in London in 1942. He is considered as the grandfather of belgian jazz as he continues to play on the now very active Belgian jazz scene.

He began playing in the 60's with Lou Bennett then with Dexter Gordon and Stéphane Grappelli. He was then a member of Jean-Luc Ponty quintet with Joachim Kühn on piano, right after he recorded his first album (Stream), in 1971. A year later, he met among others. John Scofield, Ran Blake, George Benson.

He has worked also with such great artists as Billy Brooks, Edgar Bateman, John Lee, Gerry Brown, Larry Coryell, Alphonse Mouzon, Charlie Mariano, Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen, Kenny Drew, Toots Thielemans, Grappelli, Charles Mingus, Chet Baker, Tom Harrell, the rock group Focus. Alphonse Mouzon and Miroslav Vitous.

Philip has played in the most prestigious concert halls, from the Berlin Philharmonic to Carnegie Hall, from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam to the Olympia and Salle Pleyel in Paris and the Palais des Beaux-Arts of Brussels. However, he still loves to play in jazz clubs.

Philip Catherine has received many awards, among others: the "BIRD" Prize (1990), together with Stan Getz, at the North Sea Festival; the "Django D'Or" (1998) in Paris for 'Best European Jazz Artist'; the ZAMU 'Lifetime Achievement Award' (2001) a" from the Antwerp Conservatory (a title assigned in previous years to highly reputed artists like Jos van Immerseel, Sigiswald Kuijken and Toots Thielemans).

in recent years artist performances with some leading European big bands, and more and more frequently with chamber orchestras as well playing his own compositions. He still plays with smaller ensembles, and in 2008 he published his first solo album Guitars Two.