Flip Phillips; Saxophonist With Woody Herman’s Band

Tenor saxophonist Flip Phillips, a key member of Woody Herman’s big band in the 1940s who was also prominent in the legendary Jazz at the Philharmonic touring concerts for more than a decade, has died. He was 86.

Phillips died Friday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The cause of death was not announced.

Born Joseph Edward Filipelli in Brooklyn, N.Y., Phillips took up the bass clarinet at the age of 12 and stayed with that instrument through his teens, finding work in neighborhood restaurants and clubs. He picked up the saxophone over the years and started playing on 52nd Street in Manhattan, then a hotbed of jazz, with bands led by Frankie Newton, Red Norvo and Benny Goodman.

Phillips got his big break in 1944 when he replaced Vido Musso in Herman’s First Herd band. He fit right in with a big sound and energetic improvisations. Some critics viewed his honking style with disdain, saying it overshadowed his other strength, which was the tender ballad.

Jazz fans didn’t seem to mind Phillips’ driving style, however.

“There’s an old expression: ‘When you want to make a dollar, make the people holler,’ ” Phillips said in an interview years later. “If the rhythm section is swinging, I’ll swing along with ‘em; and if it gets goin’, it’s the greatest thing in music.”

His most noted tune may be the 1947 recording of Juan Tizol’s “Perdido,” which he did for Norman Grantz during a Jazz at the Philharmonic concert at Carnegie Hall.

“It turned my career around,” Phillips later said, “because a lot of radio stations, all over the country, were playing [it].”

Phillips played with the Jazz at the Philharmonic ensembles from the late 1940s until Grantz disbanded the unit in 1957, often dueling on the bandstand with Illinois Jacquet, another saxophone legend with a great honking sound. Phillips closed out the ‘50s playing with drummer Gene Krupa’s trio and made a European tour with Goodman.

After taking some time away from jazz in the 1960s, Phillips resurfaced a decade later in New York City with the great pianist Teddy Wilson. He was also prominent in alumni concerts of the Woody Herman big band.

Phillips’ major label debut as a leader came just last year when “Swing Is the Thing” was released by Verve records. Surrounded by players less than half his age, Phillips more than held his own with the likes of Joe Lovano and James Carter.

In reviewing the recording, Don Heckman, who writes about jazz for The Times, noted that “while swing may be intrinsic to Phillips’ music, it is his ability to use it with grace and maturity that gives his playing its irresistible appeal.”

Phillips is survived by his wife, Miyoko; a sister; and a grandson.