Born near Bordeaux, France, Philippe Petit established himself in Paris in 1977 and worked for the Barclay Studios as a pianist and composer. In 1980, he met the saxophonist Francis Bourrec with whom he played until 1987 in clubs and festivals (Jazz aux Ulis, Printemps de Bourges and Salon de la Musique amongst others.) He played for several years with the French singer Claire Lise Vincent in France and abroad, in particular in the Memphis in May Festival in Memphis, Tennessee. He also accompanied famous American soloists such as Arnett Cobb, Bud Shank, Benny Bailey and French artists such as Sylvain Beuf and Jean-Claude Fohrenbach. In 1993, he met the guitarist Gilles Clement and the percussionist Eric Dervieu and began to develop an interest in the Hammond organ. The trio toured France and notably played in the Clermont – Ferrand Festival, the Radio France Festival in Montpellier and the Guitar Masters in Pau. Meanwhile, Philippe supported various well known artists and musicians such as Eric Alexander, Houston Person, Marc Fosset, André Villéger and many others. He also played with the international organist, Rhoda Scott.
In 1999, his meeting with noted saxophonist/flutist Hervé Meschinet and guitarist Gilles Renne led to the formation of his new band, Mister Hyde, with whom he performed on an international level in clubs and festivals (concerts in St Louis, Senegal ; Aiguillon Jazz Festival, Chambéry ; The Petit Opportun,The Lionel Hampton jazz Club, New Morning and Duc des Lombards jazz clubs and later on released their debut CD, Back to the Beat. Currently, Philippe plays and composes for numerous formations as a pianist and Hammond organist. In particular, he is part of the Marc Fosset’s trio (with Eric Dervieu on drums) ; of the Boogaloo Baby group (with Philippe Combelle) and plays on a regular basis with the acclaimed singer, Sophia Nelson, for whom he composed her signature piece on her last album, Woman in Love.
Philippe is regulary invited to perform abroad with his own band or as a side man for other artists and has toured Africa extensively (Senegal, Mauritania, Gambia, amongst others.) In August 2007, he toured South America (Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina) with Carles Gr (guitar), Sylvain Sourdeix (sax) and Philippe Combelle (drums) and recorded a CD, Tribute to Michael Brecker, with the same band for Crystal Records (released in September 2008.) Since then he has also toured Asia (India.) In 2009, Philippe recorded N’Gor , a new CD with the LSP Trio (saxophonist Sylvain Sourdeix and drummer Jean Luc Lopez), merging influences of Jazz, Funk, Pop and World Music whilst all the while maintaining the sense of the core melody.
Since 2012, he plays with vibes player Dany Doriz, with whom he performs at Le Caveau de La Huchette, wich is one of the top jazz clubs in France. With tis band, he played with such artists as Scott Hamilton and Ronald Baker. In January 2017, he has been invited with the Dany Doriz Band to perform for the 60th Anniversary of the famous club “The Cavern” in Liverpool, “the most famous Rock’n’Roll Club in the world!”