Phil Bodner

Phil Bodner
Birth name	Philip L. Bodner
Born	(1917-06-13)June 13, 1917 Waterbury, Connecticut
Died	February 24, 2008(2008-02-24) (aged 90) New York, New York
Genres	Jazz
Occupation	Musician
Instrument(s)	Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, concert flute, alto flute, piccolo, oboe, and english horn.
Labels	Dunhill

Philip L. Bodner (June 13, 1917 – February 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist and studio musician who also played flute, oboe, saxophone, and English horn.

Career

Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Bodner was raised in Paterson, New Jersey where at an early age he showed an interest in playing saxophone. He studied with local teachers and soon was playing saxophone and clarinet in small jazz bands before graduating from Paterson High School. In 1939 at the age of 22, he lucked into filling a vacancy for a tenor saxophonist in the staff orchestra of radio station WMCA in New York City. His proficiency in being able to improvise without needing to read printed notes caught the attention of the station's managers who offered him a full-time job. By then he could play alto and tenor saxophone. From 1939 to 1942, while working at WMCA, he took private lessons with various notable woodwind teachers including Harold Gomberg, who became the principal oboist for the New York Philharmonic in 1943. Before entering the army in 1942, Bodner had mastered not only the clarinet, tenor and alto saxophones, but also soprano and baritone saxophone,bass clarinet, four flutes (piccolo, concert, alto and bass), oboe, english horn, and what he referred to as his "toys": the recorder, penny whistle, and ocarina. He became known in the recording studios of New York City as a "woodwind doubler", someone who could play multiple woodwinds in a recording studio. In the 50's, he was in the studio band for the Morey Amsterdam Show, which was broadcast on live television. He was soon in high demand in the recording studios in New York City, and appeared on iconic jazz recordings including Miles Davis' Porgy and Bess (1959) where Bodner played concert flute, alto flute and clarinet. He recorded with Benny Goodman and Gil Evans in 1958. He organized The Brass Ring, a group modeled after Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, and played with Oliver Nelson and J.J. Johnson in that decade. Associations in the 1970s included Oscar Peterson, Yusef Lateef, Peanuts Hucko, Wild Bill Davison,Ralph Sutton, and Bill Evans.

Bodner played the signature piccolo part on the disco hit "The Hustle" by Van McCoy. Other work in the 1970s included playing with Ralph Sutton and Johnny Varro, working with Mingus Epitaph, and arranging Louie Bellson's tribute to Duke Ellington's Black, Brown and Beige. He worked in a swing style with Marty Napoleon, Mel Lewis, and George Duvivier in the 1980s and played with Maxine Sullivan and Barbara Carroll. In 1991 he appeared in a small jazz group at Carnegie Hall with Mel Torme, where he performed a duet of Sing, Sing, Sing with Torme on the drums. Jazzmania released his album Jammin' at Phil's Place in 1990. Bodner died on February 24, 2008 at age 90.

Discography

As leader

• Fine and Dandy (Stash, 1981)
• Jammin' at Phil's Place (Jazzmania, 1994)
• The Genius of Phil Bodner (Alanna, 2003)
• Clarinet Virtuosity: Once More with Feeling! (Arbors, 2006)

With Brass Ring

• Love Theme from the Flight of the Phoenix (Dunhill, 1966)
• Lara's Theme (Dunhill, 1966)
• Sunday Night at the Movies (Dunhill, 1967)
• The Disadvantages of You (Dunhill, 1967)
• The Now Sound of the Brass Ring (Dunhill, 1967)
• Gazpacho (Dunhill, 1968)
• Only Love (Dunhill, 1968)
• The Evolution of the Brass Ring (Itco, 1969)
• The Brass Ring Featuring Phil Bodner (Project 3, 1972)

As sideman

• George Benson, White Rabbit (CTI, 1972)
• Mel Davis, Dick Hyman, Bobby Rosengarden, Living Jazz: Dear Heart and Other Favorites (RCA Camden, 1965)
• Joey DeFrancesco, Where Were You? (Columbia, 1990)
• Coleman Hawkins, The Hawk in Hi Fi (RCA Victor, 1956)
• Wes Montgomery, Fusion! Wes Montgomery with Strings (Riverside, 1963)
• Cal Tjader, Several Shades of Jade (Verve, 1963)
• Joe Wilder, The Pretty Sound (Columbia, 1959)
• Cootie Williams, Cootie Williams in Hi-Fi (RCA Victor, 1958)

References

• "Phil Bodner". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld.