Phil Seamen

Who was Phil Seamen?

Phillip William "Phil" Seamen was an English jazz drummer.

With a solid background in big band music, Seamen played and recorded in a wide range of musical contexts with virtually every key figure of 1950s and 1960s British jazz. Notable examples included Joe Harriott, Tubby Hayes, Stan Tracey, Ronnie Scott, Dick Morrissey, Harold McNair, Don Rendell, Victor Feldman, Dizzy Reece, Tony Coe, Tony Lee, and George Chisholm, to name but a few. Later in his career he worked with Alexis Korner and Georgie Fame, and had a spell with Ginger Baker's Air Force, the leader of the band being one of Seamen's foremost disciples. Drug addiction and alcoholism hampered him throughout his career.