Boogie Phil

Biography

Boogie Phil was, at the tender age of six, already driving the neighbours crazy, banging away on that old piano all day long at his parental home. As the years passed, he decided to take his musical ambitions more seriously and studied classical music at the local music academy. After listening to the music of Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton, ragtime and stride-piano became an overridding passion for him. By 20, he had already put together a full repertoire of ragtime numbers which he played in bars and clubs in and around his home town.

During one of his many visits to the local music store, a record featuring boogie-piano players caught his attention. Floyd Dixon, Little Brother Montgomery, Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson and many others... who were these guys with there powerfull, overwhelming rhythms?
Fired with passion and enthusiasm, he threw himself heart and soul into this special style of music that goes by the name of ‘Boogie Woogie’. The journey from study room to music store became daily routine. His repertoire became a mix of boogie woogie and blues.

Innovation was bound to follow. Black-American jump bands from the fifties became a new source of inspiration. In 1986 he formed his first band ‘The Chevy’s’ with which he toured all over Flanders. Originally, the repertoire mainly comprised rock’n roll acts from the fifties, performed by a quartet : piano, guitar, straight bass and drums. A few years later a horn section (tenorsax, bariton sax and trumpet) was added to the original quartet and the band established itself as a real showband, which strongly reminds of earlier jumpbands in the style of Louis Jordan, Roy Brown, Joe Turner, Jimmy ‘Honeydripper’ Liggins, ... Sweeping saxparts, gripping trumpet solos and driving boogie woogie piano. At the same time a new name was chosen : ‘THE SMOKY MIDNIGHT GANG’.

Boogie Phil & The Rhythm Devils

Boogie Phil en saxofonist Xavier Saget (beide berucht en beroemd in het Gentse) hebben samen met soulmates Karlheinz Chambaere (drums) en Selim Meiresonne (contrabas) de handen in elkaar geslagen en nieuwe ambities omgezet in een luchtig muzikaal project. De heren hebben stuk voor stuk een rijk en gevariëerd muzikaal palmares, elk binnen hun eigen stijl. Boogie Phil staat voor onvervalste boogie woogie met ‘Boogie Phil & The Woogie Band’. Xavier Saget heeft een uitgebreid repertoire van New Orleans-jazz tot fusion en funky stuff.Karlheinz Chambaere is naast drummer een gedreven percusionist met latin-invloeden.Selim Meiresonne is één en al fifties en rockabilly.Het resultaat mag er zijn. Weliswaar geen één-genre groep deze keer maar gewoon goeie muziek, een stevige groove en vooral veel fun! Heel dansbaar ook.De nieuwe groep, die luistert naar de naam BOOGIE PHIL & THE RHYTHM DEVILS, spaart kosten noch moeite om het dierbaar publiek te trakteren op een ontspannende muzikale avond  na een dag vol werkdruk en stress. Voor alle duidelijkheid …we zijn ook overdag te boeken.Op het menu een mix van boogie woogie en aanverwanten (logisch met  Boogie Phil aan boord), happy swingjazz, slappin’ stuff, vleugje latin, nostalgische rock’n roll en rhythm & blues. Yeah baby, let’s have a ball …

Boogie Phil and the Woogie Band

Back to boogie

However, his passion for the pure boogie woogie style made him form a second, much smaller band. His trio BOOGIE PHIL & THE WOOGIE BAND with only double bass and drums as accompaniment and with a repertoire of mostly boogie- and bluesstandards, became a succesfull band with frequent bookings in clubs and festivals all over Europe.

Boogie Phil did lots of solo-gigs as well and played together with top-boogiepianists such as Steve ‘Big Man’ Clayton (UK), Jean-Pierre Bertrand (F), Silvan Zingg (CH), Renaud Patigny (B), Frank Muchalle (D), Jean-Paul Amouroux (F) and Eric-Jan Overbeek (NL). He’s been a guest at several European jazz & bluesfestivals, such as boogiefestival Laroquebrou (F), jazzfestival Dusseldorf (D), blues Wespelaar (B) with Louisiana Red , blues autour du zinc Beauvais (F), boogiefestival Amsterdam (NL), jazz Neuchatêl (CH), festival de Nemours (F), bluesfestival Pepinster (B) with Chuck Berry Project, bluesfestival Sedan (F), Antwerp bluesfestival (B), etc...

house rent party

House parties

Boogie Phil takes his music to the living-room as well. Transform your house temporary into a jazzclub with family, friend or colleagues as grateful audience.

Let's boogie your bobbysocks off baby!