Remembering Phil Upchurch
July 19, 1941 – November 23, 2025
A tribute to the soulful jazz and studio guitarist
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Phil Upchurch passed away on Dec. 3, 2025 at the age of 84.
He was born on July 19, 1941 in Chicago.
His first major jobs were with r&b, soul and blues groups including the Kool Gents, the Dells, Curtis Mayfield, Otis Rush, and Jimmy Reed.
Upchurch gained experience playing jazz with such notables as Woody Herman (1968-69), Stan Getz, Richard “Groove” Holmes, Dizzy Gillespie, Jack McDuff, and Oscar Brown Jr.
As a solo artist, he had a hit in 1961 with “You Can’t Sit Down.
Throughout his career, in addition to leading an occasional album of his own, Upchurch was a valuable sideman including working as the house guitarist for the Chess label in the mid-1960s and gigging with Grover Washington Jr, Cannonball Adderley, Ramsey Lewis, George Benson, Gary Burton, John Klemmer, Joe Williams, Carmen McRae, and Jimmy Smith among many others.
Phil Upchurch is featured around 2010 stretching out on “Invitation.”
-Scott Yanow
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