Lucas Phillips is an upright and electric bassist, composer, and writer from Boston whose work fuses Black American and classical music with journalism and poetry. As a composer, his influences range from Charles Mingus to Olivier Messaien, and he draws from the rich traditions of jazz, blues, funk, the Great American songbook, and European art music. He has performed in the US and abroad playing his original music, as a sideman, and in musical theatre. 

He earned a Master's degree from the Berklee College of Music, where he was mentored by Danilo Perez. At Berklee, he studied bass with John Patitucci, Linda May Han Oh, and Susan Hagen and composition with Tamar Diesendruck. He also studied with bassist-composer Michael Woods at Hamilton College, where Phillips ran the student newspaper and won the Nelson Clark Dale, Jr. Prize in Music.

Phillips began playing cello at a young age, but a love for jazz, Motown, R&B, and blues lead him to the bass at the age of 13. He began composing around the same time, inspired equally by the classical repertoire he learned on cello and the big bands, jazz combos, and R&B groups he played bass in.

He also has a love of writing, and his current project, Lifesongs, is a merging of journalism and music, using the unique tools of music to share stories from the survivors of homicide victims.

As a writer, Phillips has worked as a general assignment reporter for the Boston Globe. His literary influences include Toni Morrison, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Theodore Roethke, and his poetry has been performed by singer Kurt Elling.