Phil’s motto: “It is all about having fun and making music.” As a Senior Technical Sales Specialist with Yamaha since 1987, Phil Clendeninn is a gear “power user” with a unique ability to make difficult things possible to learn. An accomplished musician, educator and recording engineer, Phil’s skills earned him a 2001 Grammy® Nomination for Songwriter (Best R&B Song of the Year) for a song sung by Motown’s Erykah Badu.
A graduate of the Bronx High School of Science and Syracuse University, he paired his first love – music – with emerging technology. As head recording engineer at NYC’s Downtown Sound, Phil worked with legendary jazz producers John Hammond, George Avakian and Hank O’Neal. Concurrently, his jazz fusion/R&B band, Tarika Blue, recorded two albums – sampled today by artists as far-flung as the Underwolves and Badu. He’s taught Audio Engineering at the New School, as well as played and/or recorded with many of the world’s best musicians, including The Rolling Stones, Diana Ross, Michael Shrieve (Santana’s original drummer), guitarist Ryo Kawasaki, guitarist James Mason, bassist T.M. Stevens, and, sophisticated funk-masters Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic. You can reach Phil online at YamahaSynth.com, where he is known as “Bad Mister.”
