Simon Phillips, the drumming icon of the rock’n’roll and jazz fusion universe, a guy who’s played drums for The Who, Mike Oldfield and Toto, and who has “rescued” albums for a huge number of artists in the studio with his skills, will play with his band Protocol VI. on Sunday, May 10, 2026, at the Avditorij in Portorož!
At the Avditorij Portorož show, Simon Phillips will be joined on stage by Ernest Tibbs on bass, Otmaro Ruiz on keyboards, Alex Sill on guitar and Phillip Whack on saxophone.
Tickets: €36 in presale until April 30, €41 from May 1 onward.
Over more than four decades of a career, Simon Phillips has shown an extraordinary ability to feel right at home in almost any musical setting. Precision, intensity and emotional expression are constants of his sound in every context. Very early on he was already working with many of the world’s most prominent musicians, leaving a strong mark on countless historic recordings and tours around the globe.
Already in his twenties he worked with icons like Jeff Beck, Jack Bruce, Pete Townshend, Al Di Meola, Jon Anderson, Jan Hammer, Stanley Clarke, Jon Lord, Mike Oldfield, Brian Eno and others. Several of these artists were important pioneers of jazz-rock in the early and mid-seventies, a genre also known as fusion. High-profile recordings and tours soon followed with the likes of Mick Jagger, Asia, The Who, Gary Moore, Joe Satriani and many more. The untimely death of drummer Jeff Porcaro then led Simon to a 22-year run with Toto (1992–2014). During that period he also worked on various projects led by Steve Lukather, Michael Schenker, Derek Sherinian and others.
Moving more directly into the jazz world, Simon played in a trio led by the virtuoso pianist Hiromi, alongside electric bassist Anthony Jackson. That rich collaboration lasted seven years, and between 2011 and 2016 it yielded five albums and plenty of touring. During that time he also played in a jazz-rock trio with French keyboardist Philippe Saisse and bassist Pino Palladino under the name PSP.
You can hear the influence of many great drummers in Simon’s sound, with the Tony Williams of the seventies holding a special place. As Simon puts it: “Jack Bruce introduced me to Tony in 1977. His 1975 album Believe It is still one of my all-time favorites.”
Although the first Protocol release came out back in 1989, Simon’s compositions really came together and matured with the album Protocol II in 2013. That record brought together top-tier rock guitarist Andy Timmons, jazz-funk keyboardist Steve Weingart and electric bassist Ernest Tibbs. Protocol II firmly established the new lineup as one of the most important bands in jazz-rock history. The same lineup also appeared on Protocol III in 2015. Ernest Tibbs stayed on bass for Protocol IV in 2017, which also introduced top studio rock guitarist Greg Howe and dynamic young keyboardist Dennis Hamm. The album, still a quartet, features Simon’s strongest compositions to date and was nominated for a GRAMMY in the contemporary instrumental album category. In 2019 Simon toured heavily as bandleader, marking 30 years of Protocol and playing songs from all the previous albums. The lineup was reshaped once more into a quintet, featuring seasoned keyboardist Otmaro Ruiz, saxophonist Jacob Scesney and the phenomenally talented young guitarist Alex Sill. Protocol V came out in 2022. The band consists of Ernest Tibbs (bass), Otmaro Ruiz (keyboards), Jacob Scesney (woodwinds) and Alex Sill (guitar). The album is an energetic, dynamic collection of tracks that carries the unmistakable Simon Phillips signature the audience expects from the Protocol legacy.
