Porter Kilbert (June 10, 1921 – October 23, 1960) was a jazz alto and tenor saxophonist. In September 1942, he replaced

Preston Love Preston Haynes Love (April 26, 1921 – February 12, 2004) was an American saxophonist, bandleader, and songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska, United States, best known as a sideman for jazz and rhythm and blues artists like Count Basie and Ray Char ...

as lead alto saxophonist in

Nat Towles Nat Towles (August 10, 1905 – January 1963) was an American musician, jazz and big band leader popular in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana, North Omaha, Nebraska and Chicago, Illinois. He was also music educator in Austin, Texas. The ...

' band, before going on to spend two years with

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

's band, playing in line-ups including Willard Brown,

Curly Russell Curly is a surname, given name, nickname or stage name. It may refer to: First name, nickname or stage name * Crazy Horse (1840–1877), Oglala Sioux war chief nicknamed "Curly" * Curly (scout), nickname of Ashishishe (1923), Crow Indian scout ...

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

, Oscar Bradley, Ulysses Livingston,

Sonny White Ellerton Oswald White (November 11, 1917, Panama City, Panama - April 28, 1971, New York City), better known as Sonny White, was a jazz pianist. White took on the nickname Sonny while a member of Jesse Stone's band in the middle of the 1930s. La ...

Teddy Brannon Humphrey "Teddy" Brannon (September 27, 1916, Moultrie, Georgia – February 24, 1989, Newark, New Jersey) was an American jazz and blues pianist. Brannon began on piano at age nine. He played in dance bands in high school and worked locally in n ...

Bumps Myers Hubert Maxwell "Bumps" Myers (August 22, 1912, Clarksburg, West Virginia - March 2, 1968, Los Angeles) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known primarily as a tenor saxophonist, he also occasionally played alto and soprano sax. Myers moved to sout ...

Gene Porter Eugene Porter (June 7, 1910 – February 24, 1993) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Early life Porter was born in Pocahontas, Mississippi on June 7, 1910. He began on cornet, but when his instrument was stolen he picked up saxo ...

, Alton Moore,

J.J. Johnson J. J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop. Biog ...

, Shorty Haughton, Claude Dunson,

Snooky Young Eugene Edward "Snooky" Young (February 3, 1919 – May 11, 2011) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he was able to create a wide range of sounds. Biography Young was lead trumpeter of t ...

, Freddie Webster,

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. He arranged music for D ...

, and Jake Porter. After a brief spell with

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

's band, he joined Red Saunders' band in New York in September 1946. The band later took up residency at Chicago's

Club DeLisa The Club DeLisa, also written Delisa or De Lisa, was an African-American nightclub and music venue in Chicago, Illinois. Located at 5521 South State Street (State Street and Garfield Avenue, on the South Side), it was possibly the most prestigiou ...

, and Kilbert would remain with the Saunders band until January 1952, when he left to form his own band. In December 1946, he was in a line-up led by

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

, recording for Prestige, with

Fats Navarro Theodore "Fats" Navarro (September 24, 1923 – July 7, 1950) was an American jazz trumpet player and a pioneer of the bebop style of jazz improvisation in the 1940s. A native of Key West, Florida, he toured with big bands before achieving fa ...

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with ...

JJ Johnson J. J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop. Biog ...

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts h ...

Curley Russell Dillon "Curley" Russell (March 19, 1917 – July 3, 1986) was an American jazz musician, who played bass on many bebop recordings. He was born in Trinidad. He was nicknamed "Curley" for his curly hair. A member of the Tadd Dameron Sextet, he ...

and

. In 1947, he led an orchestra backing

Clarence Samuels Lieutenant Junior Grade Clarence Samuels (June 11, 1900 – April 4, 1983), was the first Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic American of African descent photographer in the United States Coast Guard, to command a cutter, as well as the first o ...

recording for

Aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

. In 1954, he was a member of the

Horace Henderson Horace W. Henderson (November 22, 1904 – August 29, 1988), the younger brother of Fletcher Henderson, was an American jazz pianist, organist, arranger, and bandleader. Henderson was born in Cuthbert, Georgia, United States. While later at ...

big band and in 1955 and 1956, he participated in a series of "battles of the saxes" with

Tom Archia Ernest Alvin Archia, Jr. (November 26, 1919 – January 16, 1977) known as Tom Archia, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Early life Archia was born in Groveton, Texas, moving with his family as a child to Rockdale and then Baytown, ...

at the C&C Lounge. In 1960, having recorded the previous year for bandleader

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

, featuring as soloist on some of the tracks, he toured Europe with Jones' big band (with fellow altoist

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began t ...

).Campbell, Robert L. and Robert Pruter, George R. White, Tom Kelly, George Paulus “The Aristocrat Label”
Retrieved 23 July 2013.

Discography

;As leader/co-leader *1957: "Swinging with a Mombo"/"Lee's Bounce" – with Porter Kilbert and Orchestra (Porter Kilbert; Fip Ricard;

Hobart Dotson Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly half ...

; Lewis "Bill" Ogletree (tp); Johnny Avant (tb); Eddie Williams; McKinley "Mac" Easton (bars); Billy Wallace (p); Eddie Calhoun;

Vernel Fournier Vernel Anthony Fournier (July 30, 1928 – November 4, 2000), known from 1975 as Amir Rushdan, was an American jazz drummer probably best known for his work with Ahmad Jamal from 1956 to 1962. Biography Fournier was born in New Orleans, Loui ...

(

Ping Records Ping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Ping, a domesticated Chinese duck in the illustrated book '' The Story about Ping'', first published in 1933 * Ping, a minor character in ''Seinfeld'', an NBC sitcom * Pingg, a ...

)Campbell, Robert L. and Leonard J. Bukowski "The Ping Records Discography"
/ref> ;As sideman *1957: '' The Colorful Strings of Jimmy Woode'' –

Jimmy Woode James Bryant Woode (September 23, 1926 – April 23, 2005) was an American jazz bassist. He played and/or recorded in bands with Flip Phillips, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Nat Pierce, Sidney B ...

*1959: ''

The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones ''The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones'' is an album by Quincy Jones that was released by Mercury.

'' – Quincy Jones (Mercury) *1959: ''

Something to Swing About ''Something to Swing About'' is a 1960 album by jazz singer Carmen McRae, arranged by Ernie Wilkins. Reception The initial ''Billboard'' magazine review from January 1960 wrote that "McRae fans are going to like this and the gal can easily ma ...

'' -

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretati ...

(Kapp) *1960: '' I Dig Dancers'' - Quincy Jones (Mercury)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilbert, Porter American jazz tenor saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz alto saxophonists 1921 births 1960 deaths 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians