Q Coleman ‘on track’ with Mike Phillips

Published 12:23 am Wednesday, July 21, 2010

A musician/song writer with Troy ties has a track on Mike Phillips’ CD “M.P.3.” that will be released July 27.

Q Coleman’s “Party with Mike Phillips” is a featured track on the renowned jazz saxophonist’s latest album that features Stevie Wonder, Marcus Miller, Norman Brown and other Grammy winners.

“Being a part of the project will catapult me out among the great producers and writers,” he said. “My name will be seen on a nationwide project and people will say ‘who are these guys involved in a project with Mike Phillips and with a hot track?’ It will put me in a better position when things start to pay off.”

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Coleman and his partner, Eric Jackson, own and operate 310 Music Group in Atlanta.

His association with Mike Phillips came through a mutual friend in the music industry.

“Mike is from New York, and he grew up playing the bass and sax,” Coleman said.

“Like everybody else in the business, he started out playing clubs to get him into the music game. He met Wayman Tisdale, who played basketball with the Phoenix Suns but turned to jazz. I’m a Wayman Tisdale fan, and that’s how I was introduced to Mike.”

Coleman writes and arranges music and immediately connected with the new era of jazz that Phillips and Tisdale represent.

“Their music is a blend of jazz, R&B and hip-hop,” Coleman said. “Mike fuses the three. He does a little hip-hop and R&B on his new CD along with a few traditional songs he does in his show.

“Actually, there’s Mike Phillips, and there’s Mike Philly. Mike Phillips is the Coltraine, Miles Davis side and Mike Philly is the hip-hop side.”

Coleman said Mike Phillips fuses the “old” jazz that older people prefer and the R&B jazz that young people rally around.

“Mike Phillips is not a cookie-cutter musician,” he said.

“And, I’m proud to be one of the writers/producers on his M.P.3. project.”

Coleman got into the music business through his father Wilbert Coleman.

“My father was a great musician,” he said.

“He played the sax, keyboard and drums. When I was a young lad, he would take me along with him and let me play the drums. He got me into music.”

Coleman’s mother Virdies Coleman lives in Troy, which is a second home to him.