PHIL KELLY: "Bob Farnon has been my textbook for string writing"

The highly respected American composer and arranger, Phil Kelly, has recently been corresponding with Malcolm Frazer. In addition to more than 40 years as a composer-arranger for film, TV, and other media applications, Phil has written for bands like Bill Watrous' NY Wildlife Refuge, the Old Tonight show band, Doc Severinsen, Si Zentner, as well as functioning as arranger/ conductor / drummer for vocalists Buddy Greco, Julius LaRosa, Frank D'Rone, Sylvia Syms, John Gary, Jenny Smith, and Al 'TNT' Braggs among others.

Early on in his career, he also logged several years as a jazz drummer with artists such as Terry Gibbs, Red Garland, and Denny Zeitlin as well as years of work as a studio and recording drummer. In addition to his film and TV writing, Phil has written music for over 500 national commercials, ESPN, ABC Sports, NFL Films, and industrial films and shows for Cadillac, Chevrolet, Volkswagen, American Airlines and Zales Jewellers.

He also was the primary arranger for the Fort Worth (TX) Symphony Pops series for more than 25 years,and has been commissioned to provide custom pop symphonic scores for Doc Severinsen and Peter Nero. He has had arrangements played by the Houston, Dallas, Detroit, Cincinnati, and North Carolina Symphony orchestras.

Now semi-retired and residing in Bellingham WA, he still writes jazz and pop orchestra arrangements for publication and on commission, and is beginning an auxiliary career in the educational field as a clinician in film scoring and music for the media at various colleges around the USA, as well as a big band coach at the Bud Shank Centrum Jazz camp in Port Townsend WA for the past two years. His first big band jazz album under his own name, "Convergence Zone" has been recorded this summer for autumn release on Origin Records.

Phil recently told Malcolm Frazer that he regards Robert Farnon as being … "greatly responsible in many ways for turning me into a fairly competent orchestral / film / arranger-composer. Actually, Bob (through one of his many American disciples, Marion Evans) has been my textbook for string (and orchestral) writing since the early 1960s. I was one of the acolytes that hung out in Marion’s apartment across the street from Jim & Andys where I was introduced to the Farnon oeuvre."

Readers may recall that a photograph of a distinguished group of arrangers in Marion Evans’ apartment back in 1956 was included in JIM 151 – June 2002, page 6. Unfortunately Phil Kelly wasn’t present when this photo was taken. Phil has an attractive website – www.philkellymusic.com

from Journal Into Melody : September 2004