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| Phil
at the 2002 Willamette Delta Showcase, playing with R.J. Mischo. |
Duffy Bishop & Chris Carlson: Phil had been the bassist for the Duffy Bishop Band for the past five years after already making an indelible mark on the Portland music scene by lending his considerable talents to many of the best bands around. Besides blessing the Northwest with his music, Phil played all over North America and in Europe with such artists as Johnny & the Distractions, The Margo Tufo Band, Benny Wilson, Terry Evans, Robbie Laws, The Shakers with Robin O, The Lucky Dawgs, Renato Caranto, Lily Wilde, The Flying Stickleys and Monkey Dog. Phil was amazing. He kept playing with us until he physically couldn’t. His last performance, at the Waterfront Blues Festival, was inspirational. It took every bit of his strength and determination just to get on site and up on the stage. We had a stool set up for him, but after playing two songs sitting down, he stood up and gave us the Phil smile. He not only played his ass off, but sang backup vocals, too. The only thing that Phil loved more than music was his beautiful wife and partner of thirty two years, Terre. He faced the end like he lived his life, with dignity and grace. We feel so fortunate to have had our time with Phil and will miss him dearly. What a guy!
Terry Currier: I first met Phil Haxton when we were recording our first album for Burnside Records, My Desire, with Johnny And The Distractions. I knew all the guys except him and the drummer, Don Worth II. The session went incredibly well and you could tell that Phil was a very strong player as well as just a really nice guy to be around. Over the following years, I saw Phil play with a number of Portland’s better bands. His reputation as a player continued to grow. It was a pleasure in recent years to have him join another of the Burnside artists’ bands, The Duffy Bishop Band. He had big shoes to fill in that position, previously held by Keith Lowe, Dave Kahl and Willie Barber; but after a few gigs, it almost felt like he had been with the band the entire time. I am glad that I had the opportunity to know Phil and I thank him for all the great musical contributions he made to our community.
Robin Ira: My heart is very heavy, but at the same time joyous, for I was one of the lucky ones to have called Phil a close friend. More than a friend really, a confidant. He was always there when I needed a friend and he made me laugh. I have lost many loved ones in my life, but I realize that after the tears and pain subside, they actually haven’t gone far, for they are always with me. Phil will always be with me.
Terry Robb: I first met Phil in the mid-‘70s and he was the first really good bass player I ever worked with. He was a great guy. I hired him to do some gigs with me and then I kind of lost track of him for awhile. Then we hooked up again sometime in the ‘80s, when I saw him playing with Johnny And The Distractions. He was great then, and he was great always. The thing that struck me about Phil was he seemed like one of the first professional working musicians I’d known who was around my age. He was always professional, took care of business and seemed kind of worldly to me. In a way, I was kind of in awe of him.
Paul deLay: I only knew Phil on the bandstand, but I got a big kick out of him. I remember one night at Hopper’s working with Chris Tucker, Dover (Weinberg) and Don Schulz, playing a slow blues in G. The tune was going really well and while I am pretty much preoccupied with what I’m playing, I found myself studying what Phil was doing underneath it all. It was perhaps the finest Blues bass playing that I’d ever heard. Supportive when it needed to be, unobtrusive, sparse at other times, and yet very creative and unpredictable. Everything else at that moment just fell away and I found myself fascinated by what he was doing. Phil Haxton was a joy to work with.
Rae Gordon: What an incredible man. I couldn’t believe how brave you were to come out and continue doing what you love when I’m sure you just wanted to stay home. You were always willing to give that extra two cents worth to anybody who needed it. You were always patient and welcoming to me even when I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. I feel honored to have known and played with you. I was praying it could be more. God bless you Phil and God bless your family.
Scott Sullivan: Wish you were still here buddy. I wish I could get in another game of electronic golf with you. What an honor to know you. Wish I got to know you sooner. You will be missed. I have a hard time believing you are gone now, but know you are in a good place. We are all saddened surely, but the thing that makes me smile is that you have touched so many lives.
Craig Allen Larsen: A prayer and a hope that you are at peace and resting on the other side. It was a pleasure knowing you, learning about finger funk technique and of course all those jokes. Missing you brother . . . Nemaste
crisp
granite shoulders
hold warming sun
over growing trees
Robin Gibson: Phil’s infectious smile, his “bopping and dancing” to the beat as he played, and his driving bass lines will sorely be missed. I was not what you’d call close to Phil, but knew him well enough that I knew I could count on him for just about anything, because that was the kind of guy he was. My heart goes out to his family, and all his close friends.
Jeff Barnes: I had the pleasure of touring through California, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, Kansas, Missouri and Colorado with Duffy’s band. Phil and I became good buddies over a period of time when many people in the same situation might tend to become more annoyed with each other than anything else. Although I can’t actually recall any specific jokes, Phil was one of the funniest people I’ve ever hung out with. Always very wry and understated. During one incident, the band had landed in Memphis, Tennessee, and we had somehow misplaced Phil’s foam roll which we would take turns sleeping on to save the cost of an extra room. Phil called a foam company to see about getting it replaced. When the guy on the other line told him it would be about $100, Phil didn’t bat an eye. He just smiled and said, “That’s great! Maybe I’ll replace the one on my king-sized bed and the one in my guest room, too!” Funny and very quick-witted, Phil was also kind, solid and sincere in so many ways. He made my life better for having been his friend.
Greg Johnson: After years of being entertained by Phil Haxton in a number of bands, I first met him at the Hurricane Mitch benefit a few years back while he was playing with Robbie Laws. He struck me as being such an open and kind-hearted individual, a feeling that never wavered throughout the years I had the pleasure to see him perform thereafter. When I received the phone call of Phil’s passing, I immediately placed a copy of the 2002 Willamette Delta Showcase master disc on the player to listen to the set by R.J. Mischo. The show opened with a lone musician on stage, playing a steady, lonesome pace on bass setting up the vocals of Mischo. The song continued with just Mischo and this marvelous bassist’s performance, until the closing of the number when the whole band stepped in. Listening to Phil perform almost solely on that number both choked me up and elated me. It saddened me that one of the finest musicians in Portland was gone, but I was also overjoyed by the fact that he was able to share his talent with and to touch so many people within our community. He’ll always be here within our fondest memories.
David Kahl: I am having difficulty in expressing myself when it comes to Phil, but even deeper is the difficulty of using the words "lost" and "passed" when talking about him. If one can "lose" another, physically, then how is it that the sensation, the aura, that surrounded that person is still so profoundly present? What is present cannot have "passed". I loved Phil Haxton for all the reasons that others express: his humility, his humor, his dignity, his devotion, his honest candor, his nondogmatic existence. I loved him, also, for the truth of his friendship to me. Phil was able to see, and to know, where I was coming from and where I was going. He offered himself as a sounding board and as a mirror for the passion of music, the instrument, and the stories which we shared. I loved Phil the first time I ever heard him play, and respected his talent and abilities; I loved him more as I got to know him and continue to grow in my respect for him. I will miss his voice, I will miss the time with him, but his presence will always be with me. Although the tears we shed are abundant, each one holds within a multitude of memories. They are offered as prayers of remembrance and disappear into the vapor to become one with that light which Phil is now a part of. This life is but one room in the mansion of the universal realm. I choose to think of Phil, not as "lost" or "passed". Phil is just in another part of the house.
To The Cascade Blues Association - A big THANK YOU to ALL for your love, prayers
and heartfelt support. Know that Phil loved being
a part of your "tribe". Remember too, even though the song ends, the
melody lives on.
Sincerely,
Terre Schussman-Haxton, friends, and family
© 2003 Cascade Blues Association