Simon Phillips & Protocol 6
Simon Phillips, drums
Phillip Whack, saxophone
Alex Sill, guitar
Otmaro Ruiz, keyboards
Ernest Tibbs, bass
“The result: high-flying fusion melodies...pulverizing rock and funk grooves...Simon’s up to his own thing, an engaging concoction that offers plenty of pleasures and surprising twists.” — JazzTimes
Jazz. Rock. Jazz-rock. Across more than five decades, GRAMMY®-Nominated legendary drummer Simon Phillips has shown an uncanny ability to excel in most any musical environment. Precision, intensity and emotion are hallmarks of Simon’s sound in every setting. By his twenties, Simon had already worked with iconic figures including Jeff Beck, Jack Bruce, Pete Townshend, Al Di Meola, Jon Anderson, Jan Hammer, Stanley Clarke, Jon Lord, Mike Oldfield, Brian Eno and others. High-profile recordings and/or tours were soon to come with the likes of Mick Jagger, Asia, The Who, Gary Moore, Joe Satriani and many more. But it was the untimely death of drummer Jeff Porcaro that led to Simon’s 21-year presence in Toto (1992-2014), highlighted by ten albums and numerous world tours. During this period, Phillips also worked on various projects led by Steve Lukather, Michael Schenker, Derek Sherinian and others. Simon’s own compositions and group concept began to gel with the Protocol II album in 2013. There have since been four more Protocol albums, culminating with Protocol 6 in 2026.
