Philip Catherine

Philip Catherine stands among Belgium’s most accomplished guitarists, celebrated for a playing style marked by rich harmonic detail, profound melodic expression, and a clean, rounded articulation that adapts fluidly to Gypsy jazz, fusion, blues, post-bop, funk, swing, and numerous other idioms. Although many listeners first associated him with fusion through the 1972 release Stream and the 1974 album September Man, his range proved broader, reflected in the decade’s collaborations with Kenny Drew, Rolf and Joachim Kuhn, Jean-Luc Ponty, Peter Herbolzheimer, and Larry Coryell, the last of whom joined him for both recordings and acoustic duo tours. The next year brought sessions with Charles Mingus, who bestowed the nickname “Young Django,” an epithet that lent its name to a 1979 album featuring Stéphane Grappelli, Coryell, and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. Early in the 1980s Catherine traveled with Benny Goodman and appeared in trios alongside Chet Baker and Didier Lockwood. Following the well-received Chet’s Choice of 1985, he resumed leadership duties with the funky, chart-successful Transparence in 1987. The 1990s yielded three albums with trumpeter Tom Harrell, two notable duo projects with Pedersen titled Spanish Nights and Art of the Duo, and two widely praised trio recordings with Serge Delaite and George Mraz issued as Emotionally and Teenagers. Catherine also issued the electric post-bop fusion sets Guitar Groove and Blue Prince on Dreyfus Jazz, then opened the new century with international successes that included 2009’s Culture Griot alongside Baba Sissoko, 2011’s Plays Cole Porter, and the concert recording La Belle Vie.

London-born in 1942 to an English mother and Belgian father, Catherine relocated with his family to Brussels while still young. As a teenager he took up the guitar under the spell of French singer-songwriter and poet George Brassens; by fourteen he was studying and exploring jazz improvisation when Django Reinhardt’s music entered his awareness. He absorbed Reinhardt’s singular approach rapidly and later absorbed further influences from Belgian guitarist René Thomas while steeping himself in recordings by Art Blakey, Clifford Brown, Max Roach, and other jazz masters.

Gigs began during his teenage years, first in a trio with American Hammond B-3 organist Lou Bennett and drummer Oliver Jackson, followed by work with Belgian saxophonist Jack Sels and Philadelphia-born, Brussels-based drummer Edgar Bateman. Violinist Jean-Luc Ponty recruited him in 1970; inspired by contemporaries John McLaughlin and Larry Coryell, Catherine remained with Ponty for a year, committing himself to progressive fusion and attending formal studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston during the same period.

Upon returning to Belgium he found abundant opportunities and forged associations with Klaus Weiss, Les McCann, Karin Krog, Dexter Gordon, and additional artists. His debut as a leader arrived with 1971’s Stream, an inventive blend of acoustic and electric jazz with funk leanings. The 1975 albums Guitars and September Man continued in a similarly exploratory, fusion-oriented vein. Further sessions ensued with Herb Geller, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, and Charles Mingus, together with another duo tour alongside Coryell. The decade closed with Catherine’s own Nairam, which again featured Mariano plus trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg and additional musicians.

Catherine’s visibility grew throughout the 1980s with further acclaimed releases such as Babel, End of August, and the Trio date recorded with guitarist Christian Escoudé and violinist Didier Lockwood. Additional appearances occurred with Aldo Romano, Stéphane Grappelli, and Kenny Drew. His association with West Coast trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker drew particular notice, encompassing tours and appearances on 1983’s Mr. B and 1985’s Strollin’. Although the 1986 album Transparence incorporated keyboards into its atmospheric textures, the Baker collaborations signaled a shift toward acoustic emphasis that continued with 1990’s I Remember You, an album dedicated to Baker, who had died the previous year, and that also featured trumpeter and flugelhornist Tom Harrell. Throughout the 1990s Catherine maintained a steady output on smaller jazz imprints including Enja, Criss Cross, and Dreyfus, releasing titles such as Moods, Vol. 1, Spanish Nights, and 1999’s Guitar Groove.

Blue Prince appeared in 2001, balancing acoustic jazz with electric fusion and featuring trumpeter Bert Joris, bassist Hein van de Geyn, and drummer Hans Van Oosterhout. Joris returned for 2002’s Summer Night, while the orchestral Meeting Colours followed three years later. The more intimate Guitars Two surfaced in 2008. Catherine then joined van de Geyn, pianist Enrico Pieranunzi, and drummer Joe La Barbera for the 2010 live album Concert in Capbreton. The trio recording Plays Cole Porter arrived the following year, succeeded by the warmly sophisticated Côté Jardin in 2013. New Folks, a duo album with bassist Martin Wind, appeared in 2014. Catherine next collaborated with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie on 2015’s The String Project: Live in Brussels. In 2017 he shared billing as soloist with Finnish saxophone legend Eero Koivistoinen on Jazz Liisa 13; the next year he recorded La Belle Vie with longtime associate Aldo Romano on drums and organist Emmanuel Bex. Manoir de Mes Rêves, a 2019 trio session with upright bassist Sven Faller and acoustic guitarist Paulo Morello, presented French standards drawn from pop, jazz, and chanson sources. In 2020 KTI Japan, in association with Warner International, remastered and reissued Stream.