Bert Wilson (October 15, 1939 – June 6, 2013) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
clarinetist
The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodw ...
and
saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
.
Early life
Wilson was born in
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...
. His father and grandfather were both
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
showmen, and as a child, he did routines in traveling shows with his grandfather, but after contracting
polio
Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
at age four, he suffered extended
paralysis
Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...
and was unable to move his arms for years. Once he recovered, he learned piano, and picked up clarinet at age thirteen; he didn't begin playing saxophone until age 18, after he had relocated from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Career
In California, Wilson played as a leader in groups which included George Morrow and
Albert Stinson
Albert Stinson (August 2, 1944 in Cleveland, Ohio – June 2, 1969) was an American jazz double-bassist.
Stinson learned to play piano, trombone, and tuba before settling on bass at age 14. After his graduation from John Muir High School in Pasade ...
, and played a show with
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...
in 1966. Later in 1966 he moved to New York City, where he played with James Zitro and
Sonny Simmons
Huey "Sonny" Simmons (August 4, 1933 – April 6, 2021) was an American jazz musician.
Biography
Simmons was born on August 4, 1933, in Sicily Island, Louisiana. He grew up in Oakland, California, where he began playing the English horn. (Along ...
; he returned to California in 1969, moving to
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
*George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer to ...
Donald Garrett
Donald Rafael Garrett (February 28, 1932, El Dorado, ArkansasAugust 14, 1989, Champaign, Illinois) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played double-bass, clarinet, and flute.
Biography
Garrett, who preferred to be called Rafael, was ...
,
Eddie Marshall
Edwin "Eddie" Marshall (April 13, 1938 – September 7, 2011Obituary ) was an American , and Smiley Winters.
Later in the 1970s he moved briefly to
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...
, and at the end of the decade relocated to
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...
, where he led the group Rebirth, which also included Nancy Curtis,
Chuck Metcalf
Chuck Metcalf (8 January 1931 − 11 January 2012) was an American jazz double-bassist. He taught at Garfield High School's Magnet Program with saxophonist Joe Brazil in 1968. In 1980 he toured with Dexter Gordon. His first solo studio album nam ...
, Bob Myers,
Jack Perciful
Jack T. Perciful (November 26, 1925, Moscow, Idaho – March 13, 2008, Olympia, Washington) was an American jazz pianist.
Perciful learned piano from an early age; his mother was a pianist who played in silent movie houses. After enlisting in the ...
Barry Kernfeld
Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians.
Education
In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at ...