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 ...

, where he worked with Barbara Donald,

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 ...

, Chuck Stentz, and Allen Youngblood.

References

*Gary W. Kennedy, "Bert Wilson". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd edition, ed.

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 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Bert American jazz clarinetists American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Musicians from Indiana People from Evansville, Indiana 1939 births 2013 deaths American male jazz musicians 20th-century American saxophonists