Phil Miller - Digging In (1991)

Philip Paul Miller - Born January 22, 1949 (Barnet, Hertfordshire, England) - 18 October 2017

Phil Miller was a pilar of the Canterbury sound community. Influenced by the great blues guitarists he developped a style of his own, a mixture of Blues, Rock and Jazz with a personal melodic approach.

Bands : 'DELIVERY ' (1966-71), 'DC & The MB's' (1971), 'MATCHING MOLE' (1971-72), 'HATFIELD AND THE NORTH' (1972-75), 'NATIONAL HEALTH' (1975-80, 1981, 1983), 'GOWEN - MILLER - SINCLAIR - TOMKINS' (1981), 'Phil Miller/Phil Lee Duo' (1980-81), 'In Cahoots' (1982-.), 'Oddjob' (1985), 'HUGH HOPPER BAND', 'Short Wave' (1991-96), 'Phil Miller/Fred Baker Duo' (1992-), 'Phil Miller/Steve Miller/Mark Hewins Trio' (1996-98)

Miller's first band 'Delivery' was formed in 1966 including his brother Steve (piano & vocals), Pip Pyle (drums), Jack Monk (bass) and later on Lol Coxhill, (sax). Monk was replaced by Roy Babbington in 1969, and with singer Carol Grimes, 'Delivery' recorded the album 'Fool's Meeting' (1970) including five Miller compositions. In late 1970 'Delivery' split and Phil and Steve joined Lol Coxhill in a new project called 'DC & The MB's', but the project ended when Steve Miller left to join 'Caravan' and Phil was asked by Robert Wyatt to join 'Matching Mole'. After the split of 'Matching Mole' he joined 'Hatfield & The North' and played then for five years with 'National Health'. After the break-up of 'National Health' in 1980 he was involved in different projects including a duo with ex-'National Health' guitarist Phil Lee and a trio with Lol Coxhill and his brother Steve.

In 1982 Miller formed his own band 'In Cahoots' as vehicle for his compositions, with Richard Sinclair, Pip Pyle and Elton Dean. In February 1985, Richard Sinclair was replaced by Hugh Hopper and the resulting line-up recorded most of the tracks of 'Cutting Both Ways' (1987) released as a solo record, followed by a tour of Europe. Fred Baker replaced Hopper and the band recorded Miller's second album, 'Split Seconds'. In 1991 Miller' recorded his first solo album, 'Digging In' (1991), followed by a duo record with Fred Baker 'Double Up' (1992) and, a 'In Cahhoots' live recording 'Live In Japan' (1993). In 1991 Miller played also together with Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, and Hugh Hopper in 'Short Wave' and in 1993 'In Cahoots' recorded 'Recent Discoveries' (1994) a record with a more pronounced jazz influence. In 1996 'In Cahoots' undertook a British tour , recorded 'Parallel' and went on tour with 'Caravan'. For the rest of the 90's Miller toured with 'In Cahoots' in England, France, Belgium and the Netherlands and played on Pip Pyle's solo album '7 Year Itch' (1998).

In May 1998 his brother Steve was diagnosed as suffering from terminal cancer and in June Phil played a reformed 'Delivery' benefit concert for Steve with Pip Pyle, Lol Coxhill and Carol Grimes. Steve died in December that year.'Out Of The Blue' (2001), recorded by 'In Cahoots' and written during the period when Steve was ill, is a tribute to Steve and dedicated to his memory. In 2004 'In Cahoots' recorded a new studio album, 'All That', followed by the departures of Elton Dean and Jim Dvorak. The same year Miller reunited with Richard Sinclair as part of the latter's live band and both played in the reformed 'Hatfield and the North' with the late Pip Pyle, and Alex Maguire. In 2006 'In Cahoots' released 'Conspiracy Theories' a studio record including participations of Richard Sinclair, Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin.