Phil Urso

Phil Urso (2 October 1925, Jersey City, New Jersey — 7 April 2008, Denver, Colorado) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and composer known for his association with trumpeter Chet Baker.

Urso learned clarinet as a child and switched to tenor sax while in high school. He served in the Navy during World War II and then moved to New York City in 1947. There he played with Elliot Lawrence (1948–50), Woody Herman (1950-51), Terry Gibbs, Miles Davis (1952), Oscar Pettiford (1953), Jimmy Dorsey, and Bob Brookmeyer (1954). In 1955, he first began working with Chet Baker, and was a prominent contributor to Baker's Pacific Jazz releases in 1956. Urso and Baker would collaborate sporadically for some 30 years.

Urso worked with Claude Thornhill late in the 1950s, but receded from national attention in later decades. He moved to Denver and continued performing locally into the 2000s.

Birth and Death Data: Born Jersey City (city in New Jersey, United States), Died April 7, 2008 (Denver (consolidated city-county and capital of Colorado, United States) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1950 - 1957

Roles Represented in DAHR: tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, flute

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-29 of 29 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 101507 1/30/1957 The prisoner's song Louis Armstrong instrumentalist, flute, alto saxophone  
Decca 101508 1/30/1957 Goodnight angel Louis Armstrong instrumentalist, flute, alto saxophone  
Decca 101509 1/30/1957 I'll string along with you Louis Armstrong instrumentalist, flute, alto saxophone  
Decca 101510 1/30/1957 And the angels sing Louis Armstrong instrumentalist, flute, alto saxophone  
(Results 26-29 of 29 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Urso, Phil," accessed January 7, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/210394.

Urso, Phil. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 7, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/210394.

"Urso, Phil." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 7 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/210394

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