LATEST NEWS

In Cahoots St Jean aux Bois 1998

I’d first heard the horn-less quartet version of In Cahoots in September 1997 in Groningen, on what was likely its debut, and liked the trimmed-down approach very much, so I couldn’t possibly miss their brief tour of France in March 1998. So I found myself driving to St Jean aux Bois, a small village near Compiègne, about 45 minutes drive North of Paris. The venue ‘Les Naiades’ was a friendly little sort of inn with even a fireplace on the side of the stage. Longtime friend/supporter, Serge Wodrascka (who can be heard sitting in on Above And Below) put on gigs there into the 2000s and Canterbury Scene bands like Pip Pyle’s Bash and Hugh Hopper’s Franglo Band were some of the other bands I later saw there – not to mention the trio + guest version of In Cahoots in 2001, documented elsewhere on this site. Eventually, the place was filled with about 50 people, who were treated to a performance consisting of two lengthy sets, with familiar material like Above And Below and No Holds Barred as well as pieces I’d never heard before, Pete’s Big Dick and Fred’s Upside (during which a couple stood up and danced, much to the band’s surprise!), both of which would appear five years later on All That, re-arranged for the sextet.

Click here to listen.

13.11.19

18th October 2019

This is the second anniversary of the death of Phil Miller.
Here is a painting of Phil that I completed recently.

Can I please ask you all on this day to click the link to listen to this piece of Phil’s music?
It is the 6th track from the album Split Seconds and only lasts for 3.30 minutes.
It is called “I Remain”
Phil may have died but his music remains alive.
My heartfelt thanks to you all for doing this in his memory today.

Herm

In Cahoots Immenstadt Austria 1987

Watch In Cahoots (Phil, Elton, Steve Franklyn, Pip & Hugh) live at The Rainbow, Immenstadt, Austria, from 28th November 1987.

Despite the quality of this ancient recording, this early In Cahoots gig is well worth a look, especially for the great Pip Pyle drum solo.

16.10.19

Hatfield & the North Central TV 1990

Progman Cometh Seattle 2002

Watch In Cahoots at the Moore Theatre, Seattle from the 18th August 2002.

Click here to watch

22.08.19

New Video Interviews

Today we added seven new interview excerpts to our interviews page, including more from Doug Boyle, Jack Monck, Jim Dvorak and Pete Lemer, and new interviews with Marc Hadley, Sarah Gail and Simon Picard.

Click here to watch

14.08.19

Canterbury Legends 2007 Videos

Watch four videos of Canterbury Legends live in Cluny from 2007.

Click here to watch.

31.07.19

New Interviews Page

We have just added a new page of video interview excerpts  that Aymeric Leroy conducted with a number of musicians that had worked with Phil over many years.

Click here to watch.

21.07.19

Green and Purple

Here is a drawing of Phil made by Guido Spring’s six year old son Jasper.
Great drawing Jasper!

05.07.19

Hatfield and the North – Son of There’s No Place Like Homerton – 1974

In April/May 1974, Hatfield and the North played a series of ‘big band’ concerts, of which Dave Stewart’s epic (Son Of) There’s No Place Like Homerton was the highlight. Sadly, none of the three shows were filmed, but we have Kim Fyson to thank for some truly wonderful photos of the Cambridge gig…

Click here to watch

02.07.19

Canterbury Legends (In Their Own Lunchtime) Bourgoin ’08

Watch Phil, Hugh Hopper, Didier Malherbe, Patrice Meyer, Alex Maguire and Manuel Denizet perform at the SMAC Les Abattoirs in Bourgoin-Jallieu, near Lyon, France, from May 2008.

Click here for the video

20.06.19

In Cahoots live in Paris ’85

Listen to In Cahoots live in Paris from 1985.

16.06.19

Phil Miller Guitar prize

Tomorrow evening (10.06.19) Fred Baker and John Etheridge will be judging the Phil Miller Guitar Prize at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Click Here for more information and tickets.

09.06.19

Calyx, arranged by Luciano Margorani

Thanks to Luciano for this great arrangement.

“A homage to Phil Miller and his amazing composition “Calyx”
I used the original track from Hatfield’s first album and changed it a bit with my computer.
You can hear Phil with Robert Wyatt, Richard Sinclair, Pip Pyle and Dave Stewart.
Recorded at Tappo studios in February 2019.
RIP Phil, you’ll be forever in my heart.”

05.06.19

In Cahoots at The Bull & Gate 1982

Click here to listen to our earliest live recording of In Cahoots.

29.05.19

NEW PAGE: Fred T Baker’s Guitar Master Classes

Click here to watch Fred’s video master class on Phil’s classic composition, God Song.

In this first of a series, Fred takes a fascinating and detailed look into one of Phil’s earlier pieces, explaining not only how to play it but also shares his great expertise on why it is such a great piece of music.

DON’T MISS THIS!

Fred T Baker New Trio:
with Micky  O’brien (bass) and Nick Twyman (drums)
Playing music by Phil Miller and Fred T Baker

Wednesday 17th April 2019
Lichfield, Cathedral Hotel, Beacon St. WS13 7AR.

Doors open 7:15 pm, music at 8:00 pm
£10 / £12 students £5

Book in advance: lichfieldarts.org.uk

Short Wave – Bresse-sur-Grosne – 1991

Billed here as Hugh Hopper and Friends, these two sets were recorded in France in November 1991.

Click here to listen now.

14.03.19

New video

In Cahoots live in Padova from 1991

25.02.19

New Score

We have just added Phil’s score for Your Root 2, along with his notes, to our dots page.

26.01.19

Birthday Tribute

Hi everyone, here is a link to a wonderful birthday tribute to Phil from Billie Bottle. Please listen to it. It is Billie singing lyrics using 22 titles of Phil’s music played to a version of Above and Below. It is beautiful and only takes a few minutes.

Herm x

For those of you not on Facebook, you can find it here on YouTube.

Phil Miller Memorial Concert

  Phil’s Memorial Concert took place on Sunday 6th Jan to packed houses – There was hardly room to breathe but that didn’t stop the cheering! All the musicians played magnificently and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all 21 of them from the bottom of my heart. It was a stunning performance all round and enthusiastically received by the audience. We have had a bagful of enthusiastic emails from musicians and audience members alike. It was a night I shall never forget.
We filmed and recorded the entire event and will eventually post a good selection of pieces up on this site. It will take some time to edit the footage and mix the recording and I will only be posting numbers one at a time as they are finished and approved by all concerned.
We would love to hear from anyone who was there and would love to post your photos and comments on this site, so please send them in.
In the meantime Jonathan Coe has written a review of the concert for the latest edition of the NEW STATESMAN, Phil Howitt has put a review on his site. Sergio Amadori has written this review on Hibou Anemone & Bear, and Mike Barnes will reviewing the concert for PROG magazine.

Herm

JUST IN: Jakko Jakszyk will be now be flying in tomorrow to perform at both concerts, after Carol Grimes had to sadly pull out earlier today.

18:30 – 5 Jan 2019

Phil Miller commemorative T-shirts

Updated rolling news about the Phil Miller memorial concert: again we are sorry to say that Didier Malherbe is still recovering from his accident and won’t be able to be at the concert. We wish him well in his recovery. Trevor Tomkins has also had to pull out due to ill health. Get well soon Trevor. Paul Booth has accepted an Australian tour which prevents him attending and Jakko Jakszyk is heartbroken to say he has to pull out due to a family crisis . We hope this does not disappoint anyone too much. We are looking forward to seeing you all on 6th Jan. The concert has been oversubscribed and sadly a lot of people have been unable to buy tickets. If anyone who doesn’t live too far away from the Vortex is interested: the Vortex is going to live stream the  music from the concerts to the bar downstairs so that musicians can relax downstairs and still be able to hear when they should make their way upstairs. Also we are having the concerts filmed and recorded and we will be putting this on this site during the course of next year. Commemorative T-shirts will be for sale, probably downstairs as it will be too crowded to do it upstairs. We still have a few of Phil’s CDs – mainly Mind overMatter and Out of the Blue, which we will give away on the 6th. Make sure you get your copy.

Herm

Click here to listen to Radio Story about sounds of London, inspired by Phil Miller and made by Guido Spring.

Click to Listen to National Health play Fourfold from 1979 and watch one of Aymeric’s slideshows of the musicians.

ALL TICKETS TO BOTH CONCERTS ARE NOW SOLD OUT!

GOOD NEWS! THE VORTEX JAZZ WEBSITE IS NOW SELLING TICKETS FOR PHIL’S CONCERT ON 6TH JAN AT THE VORTEX JAZZ CLUB

The Phil Miller Memorial Concert – Jan 6th – two concerts 4pm and 8pm at The Vortex, Dalston, London E8 – tickets £15 for single concert or £25 for both.

Featuring a total of 25 renowned musicians, performing a wide selection of Phil’s music, across two concerts on one night.

We were going to set a normal price for tickets along with a concession rate but were told by the club that was not possible, so we are selling ALL tickets at the concession rate! The Vortex is a small venue so ticket numbers are limited: book early so as not to miss out.

Go to this page on the Vortex website to see the musicians who will be playing and buy your tickets.

Keep up to date by visiting the legacy site where we will be posting rolling news.

HERM

Listen to Aymeric Leroy interview Lol Coxhill and listen to Phil and Lol playing together.

Click to listen to an In Cahoots Radio Bremen broadcast from 20 May 1986

Click here to listen to or download a recording of In Cahoots at the Zeesicht, Utrecht from 13 May 1986.

Click here to listen to and download very, very early Hatfield and the North, only weeks after they changed their name from Delivery and Dave Sinclair replaced Steve Miller – plus guest appearances from Lol Coxhill and Robert Wyatt.

Listen to and download Hugh Hopper & Special Friends (debut performance by the band who later became Short Wave) from the Europa Jazz Festival 12 May 1991

Watch Phil’s brother Steve play and be interviewed for Wire TV

Listen to both sets here.

Watch National Health perform A Fleeting Glance. 

Click to listen to Phil Miller and Pete Lemer in the Netherlands from 1995, plus read an interesting review by Manfred Bress of how they won over a Hard Rock crowd.

The Miller/Baker duo from Belgium in April 1995 Click here to listen and read Aymeric’s notes.

This tape was labelled In Cahoots Boat Race 1994 but this seems to be an error. The year is clearly wrong – InCa only played one gig in all of 1994, it’s the Jazz Café (aka Halloween) recording. The band did play the Boat Race in Cambridge, but in December 1995, so that is very likely it, especially since the gig includes early versions of the Parallel repertoire which didn’t yet exist in 1994. Now what’s interesting is that this would be the day after the Canterbury Penny Theatre recording, but with absolutely NO overlap in the set list, which leads me to wonder if they could not be two halves of the same gig. We may never know – there doesn’t seem to be much contextual information in Phil’s typically concise stage announcements. In any case taken together they form a great document of that particular tour, with what I suppose is the complete repertoire played on it. Click here to listen or download.

Watch In Cahoots live in Pavia from June 1991

Click here to listen to In Cahoots live at the Penny Theatre in Canterbury from 1995

Click here to watch Short Wave live at Gong 25 from 1994

Click here to download Phil’s score and notes for Digging In. Click here to listen to the album.

Click here to listen to the first half of one of the last dates of In Cahoots’ long European tour of spring 1986.

Watch Short Wave perform Shuffle Demons at Gong 25. Click here to watch

Today we added Phil’s score and notes for his composition Truly Yours, which can be found on the album Split Seconds. Click here to view this and other scores.

See Herm’s latest portrait of Phil and view a slideshow of how it was done. Click here to view

Watch Short Wave perform The Balladin live in this video Click here to watch now

IN CAHOOTS live at New Morning, Paris from 19 March 1993. Now without the missing beginning Click here to listen now

IN CAHOOTS live at the Vortex Jazz Bar in Hackney, London from 10 June 2008. Click here to listen now

Thanks to Aymeric Leroy for this remastered recording of National Health live in Lawrence, Kansas, which now includes, the entire gig along with some historic demos recorded a few days earlier. Click here to listen now

Today we have added some magazine interviews with Phil (and Fred Baker) from the 90s. Click here to visit now

Steve Miller and Lol Coxhill on the 1974 Virgin Crisis Tour Click here to listen or download

Reformed Hatfield and the North live from Club Citti, Tokyo from October 2005 Click here to listen or download

National Health live in Lawrence, Kansas from November 1979 Click here to listen or download

In Cahoots live at St. Jean-aux-Bois, Les Naïades (near Compiègne, France) from June 2 2001 Click here to listen or download

Video of  Hatfield and the North live at the Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem PA, 2006 Click here to watch now

Video of  Hatfield and the North live at the Bowery Poetry Club, New York, 2006 Click here to watch now

Just added Phil’s score for Eastern Region to our dots page along with his original notes.

We have just finished digitising an old DVD of Phil’s containing historic TV footage of National Health, Soft Machine, Caravan and Kevin Ayers. Watch a young Michael Parkinson interview Soft Machine and Annie Nightingale introduce National Health on the Old Grey Whistle Test. Click here to watch now.

In December 1991 Phil took In Cahoots on tour to Japan. The line-up was Phil Miller on guitar, Fred Baker on bass guitar, Pete Lemer on keyboards, Pip Pyle on drums, Elton Dean on saxes and Jim Dvorak on trumpet, playing all Phil Miller compositions. In Cahoots played four concerts in Osaka and Tokyo. The CD Phil Miller In Cahoots Live in Japan was taken from these concerts. This recording is the concert in Osaka December 12th 1991. Click here to listen or download now.

Listen to early Inca playing Second Sight and Your Root 2, as recorded for BBC Radio 3’s Jazz Today programme in 1983. Recorded from the radio onto reel-to-reel tape by Phil’s father-in-law and my grandfather, Gordon. Click here to listen now.

Today we have added a new videos page, on which we will be publishing original and otherwise unseen footage. These files have been digitised from Phil’s own collection of DVDs and VHS tapes, as well as contributions from our visitors. The first video is a two hour In Cahoots gig, recorded in Tokyo from December 2001. Click here to watch it now.

“This excellent quality DAT tape was digitised by Herm from Phil’s private collection of numerous DATs. This is a line up of In Cahoots without any keyboards at all leaving Phil as the sole chordal voice in a music which is packed with dense harmonic information (of course the bass player can always have a bit of go with chords too but it’s probably courtesy to make it clear that it’s the same money). It is testament to the quality of the compositions that Phil has chosen his chording in this format to be sparse and understated enough to put fuller focus on the horn lines, this bringing a fascinating new perspective on the In Cahoots music and interaction of the musicians. Jim’s sound in particular really rings out throughout…” Click to visit page

Thanks to our friend Rick Chafen, Kansas City Community Radio (KKFI 90.1 FM) will be broadcasting some of our previously unreleased material tonight on the show The Real Deal at 19:00 CDT. Once a month, Rick co-hosts the show, on what is known as Obscuropean Fridays. If you are in the Kansas City area, you can tune in on 90.1 on your FM band, otherwise there is a live stream that can be found at kkfi.org ; below is a snippet of Rick’s introduction to the show. “I never knew that a band called Delivery had a 30-minutes spotlight on the BBC. But now it’s been made available thanks to philmillerthelegacy.com. In some ways, Delivery became a sort of proto-Hatfield and the North. The 1970 performance includes three players who would form the Hatfields. Delivery was the first proper band that Phil Miller and Pip Pyle had together and they would play in the same bands until Pip’s death (right after a gig) in 2006. I can promise you a whole lot more music from Phil’s various bands will soon be featured.” Click here to read it all and tune in if you can.

Today we have added six new YouTube videos, including  a tribute by Fred Baker recorded on Phil’s birthday this year. Click to visit page.

We have just posted Phil’s score and notes for Green & Purple. Next up will be Eastern Region. Click to visit page

Phil & Fred – Japan – 1991

Phil Miller and Fred Baker live at the Roppongi Pit Inn, Tokyo, Japan, 21.12.1991. With surprise guests… In Cahoots bassist Fred Baker is a premium musician of many facets. He is a Professor of music at the Birmingham Conservatoire, a composer and a fully featured guitar whizz. While anyone present when Fred (in bass mode) hits his Fuzz Pedal of Ultimate and Terminal Filth will know how his passion for motorbikes has informed his musical character, the more refined and introspective side of him found a perfect expression in his guitar duo with Phil heard on the exquisite Double Up album. Fred was always highly attuned to the emotional twists and turns in Phil’s compositions and I love his harmonic overlays and commentary. It takes a musician of uncommon sensitivity to expand on Phil’s harmonic systems without overwhelming their economy; nothing in Phil’s music happened by accident and in Fred he found a foil as meticulous and detail conscious as himself. Here Phil and Fred appear at the famous Roppongi Pit Inn, Tokyo for a set of palpable intimacy that morphs into one of the gutsiest and most spiritually assertive gigs I have heard. I’ve mentioned before that Eastern Region is one of my absolute fave Phil tunes and it’s lovely to hear it’s poignant English character kicking off the set here. In contrast Nowadays a Silhouette adopts an evocatively languid continental mood in this format. Another gear change and Fred spins lines of octave leaping gypsy nonchalance on Underdub before chopping out melodies in ferocious fifths a la Wes Montgomery. There is no mystery at all why Fred had his right hand patented (only he is allowed to use it). Fred’s composition For Christine is given a perfectly crafted and delicate arrangement and Phil and Fred truly lock in as one entity. The playing here from both is touchingly peaceful and focused. Above and Below is one of Phil’s most monumental compositions. This version has an unmatched gravitas and at this point Phil announces the first in a series of very special guests… As the evening progresses Second Sight, in particular steams along thrillingly and I would like to draw your attention here to a delightful example of Phil’s examplary rhythm playing. …so, without giving too much away, it’s sufficient to say that all participants are on joyously lunatic form, and so will you be after experiencing this testament to a very special evening that is best experienced in one chunk of listening pleasure, as it happened, and without skipping ahead for sneak previews!Click to listen

05.04.18 – DOUG

National Health – Maassluis – 1979

National Health live at Toverbal Club, Maassluis (Netherlands) 29/3/1979 Phil Miller – guitar Alan Gowen – keyboards John Greaves – bass and vocals Pip Pyle – drums Thanks to Rick Chafen for this file and thank you also to Aymeric Leroy for identifying the date and location. These are two men I will be thanking a lot more… This is a very tight mic recording close to the stage in a fairly acoustically dead venue. Buzzing and occasionally drop-outs notwithstanding the balance is excellent. The Alan Gowen line up of National Health was a somewhat looser affair than the Dave Stewart led version. Phil and Alan’s compositions still had enough twists and turns to keep all the musicians in a constant state of insomnia inducing, buttock-clenching anxiety (I’d have thought) but the blowing sections are noticeably more liquid and jazzier in feel. These are my personal highlights;- John Greaves’ Squarer for Maud is an absolute delight; like wondering through a series of chambers. Each with it’s own surprising and unique decor but all forming a satisfying integrity of form (whatever that means). Astonishingly inventive and fluid solo from Phil who typically operates his wah pedal in the opposing direction than any other guitarist would have done. ‘Playing backwards’ is a comment I’ve heard about Phil’s playing more than once but, to slightly paraphrase a Stewartism, he was in fact playing forwards in a backwards world. Following on from this display and not be outdone, a fully goaded Alan Gowen brings us a Rhodes solo that sparkles like a rare gem. Key centre shifting wildly around in a manner hinted at in some unearthly chording earlier in the piece. This cut is triumphant. Phil’s classic Dreams Wide Awake is a really flowing affair by this point. The exquisite lines heard on the album version have an even more conversational and engaging character here. J Greaves and P Pyle are just so damn slinky and sinous. Compared to the intricate elegance of Neil Murray, Greaves approach has a little more ‘tude and a nice filthy punch in his tone without sacrificing elegance. Highly contrasting but I love them both, right. Playtime is a lovely, suspenseful composition by Alan Gowen (and originally heard with Gilgamesh). Every Phil solo has it’s own character and this one has an ironic sneering quality and a slight haughty air before dropping down an octave into some downright sleazy bends. Phil was generally warm and avancular but scrutiny of stage patter reveals Phil had some tech issues this night and fancy I can hear a bit of the ruffled mood of the man here and I think it’s great! Nowadays a Silhouette is a piece of open character in marked contrast to most of Phil’s compositions. Were almost back to Matching Mole conceptually. Lovely dynamic drop into Alan Gowen’s synth solo with Pip creeping supportively in behind. The feeling of space and lightness enhanced by an inspired Greaves who flows beautifully all over the neck. This is top flight musicianship that you would associate with fusion and progressive music but actually exists set apart and in it’s own category, all due to the wit, humanity, and depth of vision of the participants. Click to listen

30.03.18 – DOUG

Welcome to our new homepage

Thank you to everyone who has visited, engaged with and contributed to the site. Due to the enthusiastic interest in the new material we have been posting, we have decided to use this page as a blog, to provide up-to-date news of recent and upcoming uploads. If you would like to receive email notifications of new posts, use the ‘Subscribe’ section on the left of this page. We will also be using this feed to post any other items of interest that we, or you, might find. We are continuing to digitise Phil’s collection of DAT, Audio cassettes and VHS tapes. We will shortly be uploading a video of In Cahoots playing live at The Love Generation Festival in Japan. We also have a remarkable video with some very early TV recordings of National Health, which also includes In Cahoots band members such as Richard Sinclair in an extremely early Caravan broadcast and Elton Dean and Hugh Hopper with early Soft Machine including Robert Wyatt, not long out of school, before he grew his hair, along with Kevin Ayres and The Whole World.

29.03.18 – HERM