Phil Moore (February 20, 1918 – May 13, 1987) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and bandleader.
Biography Moore was orphaned and placed in a county hospital in Portland, Oregon. When Moore was 13, he played piano at speakeasiesBright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood by Donald Bogle (Random House, Inc., 2009) chapter: Phil Moore: The Man Who Made Music, pg 88 and small venues in Portland.Only The Strong Survive: Memoirs of a Soul Survivor/ Jerry Butler & Earl Smith Indiana University Press, 2000, pp. 87–88 He attended the Cornish School and the University of Washington in Seattle.
In 1937, Moore married pianist, actress and vocalist Neva Mary Peoples of San Francisco. He supported Lena Horne, Frank Sinatra,Luiz Carlos do Nascimento Silva. Put Your Dreams Away: A Frank Sinatra Discography (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000) pg 164 Bobby Short, Marshal Royal, Irving Ashby,Marshal Royal: Jazz Survivor by Marshall Royal and Claire Gordon, (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2001) pg 83 Julie Wilson, Gene Sedric,John Chilton, Who's Who of Jazz: Storyville to Swing Street, pg 296 Les Hite, and Helen Gallagher.The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz, Leonard Feather, page 573 He arranged big band music for the Tommy Dorsey and Harry James orchestras.Obituary , The New York Times, May 19, 1987.
Moore played a band leader in a short B movie, Stars on Parade (1946).American Film Institute Catalog by Alan Gevinson (University of California Press, 1997) pg 1341 About this time, his relationship with Dorothy Dandridge helped her develop a successful nightclub singing career.Everything and Nothing: The Dorothy Dandridge Tragedy by Dorothy Dandridge and Earl Conrad, (Harper Collins 2000) pg 83-85 Moore served as vocal coach for other performers in Hollywood, including Marilyn Monroe and Ava Gardner.Dorothy Dandridge: A Biography by Donald Bogle, (Amistad 1999)
Moore was an arranger for MGM and Paramount studios. He worked on scores for over 30 films including Ziegfeld Girl, Dumbo, Three Cheers for the Boys, Panama Hattie, Presenting Lily Mars, Cabin in the Sky, Kismet (1944), and This Gun for Hire.Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood By Donald Bogle (Random House, Inc., 2009) pg 113 Despite his efforts, he rarely received screen credit (possibly due to racial prejudice).
During the late 1940s, Moore toured with his group, the Phil Moore Four: Milt Hinton (b), Marty Wilson (dr), Johnny Letman (tpt), and Jimmy Lyons (alto sax or gtr). He recorded for RCA Victor [with Doles Dickens (b), Walter Bishop (dr), Edward Leroy Gibbs (gtr), and Remo Palmieri (elec. gtr)]; Musicraft [w/Doles Dickens or John Levy (b), Walter Bishop Sr. (dr), an unknown guitarist, and Johnny Letman (tpt)]; and Black & White Records [w/Billy Hadnott (b), Lee Young (dr), and Irving Ashby (elec. gtr)] during this time.
Moore was a movie industry vocal and stagecraft grooming coach in many actors' early careers, notably Dorothy Dandridge and Marilyn Monroe. From the late 1950s he gained and maintained until his death a wide commercial reputation in grooming and coaching aspiring black and white singers, starting a school in New York named "For Singers Only."
In 1953, he recorded two bebop Christmas songs for RCA Victor — "Blink Before Christmas" and "Chinchy Old Scrooge".Billboard Magazine, Nov 28, 1953, pg 37 These songs, created in the heyday of the "beat" era, were thick with 1950s hipster slang in the style of jazz-based pre-rap. The recording has become a rare collector's item.
Moore died at age 69 on May 13, 1987, in Los Angeles, California.
Discography As leader Dance and Dream with Phil Moore at the Piano, Volume 1 (Black & White, 1946) – 78 rpm 4-disc album set. Eventide: Phil Moore Orchestra (Discovery, 1949) – 10-inch LP. Reminiscing: Phil Moore at the Piano (Discovery, 1949) – 10-inch LP. Music for Moderns (Clef, recorded 1947, released 195?) Fantasy for Girl and Orchestra (Verve, recorded 1947, released 1956) Portrait of Leda [w/Leda Annest] (Columbia, 1958) Polynesian Paradise (Strand, 1959) Moore's Tour: An American in England (MGM, 1959) New York Sweet (Mercury, 1963)
As sideman With Gil Fuller Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra featuring Dizzy Gillespie (Pacific Jazz #PJ-93, 1965)
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