Bill Pierce (also Billy Pierce) (born September 25, 1948 in

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *Hamp ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

) is 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

. He played with

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers The Jazz Messengers were a jazz combo that existed for over thirty-five years beginning in the early 1950s as a collective, and ending when long-time leader and founding drummer Art Blakey died in 1990. Blakey led or co-led the group from the o ...

in the early 1980s and in Tony Williams's quintet in the mid-1980s to early

1990s File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War ...

. He also has released numerous CDs for which he is the band leader. He studied with Joe Viola and

Andy McGhee Andy McGhee (November 3, 1927 – October 12, 2017) was a tenor saxophonist and educator. Career McGhee graduated from New England Conservatory in 1949 and worked for a short time with trumpeter Roy Eldridge and local Boston musician Fat Man Rob ...

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

, and with Joe Allard. He is the school's woodwind department chair.

Discography

As Leader

* ''Give and Take'' ( Sunnyside, 1988) * ''Equilateral'' (Sunnyside, 1989) * ''One for Chuck'' (Sunnyside, 1991) * ''Rolling Monk'' (

Bellaphon Bellaphon Records is an independent German record label of Bellaphon records GmbH. The label produces its own artists and distributes those of other labels. Recording artists * Johnny Cash * The Flippers * Ganymed * Geordie * Joan Jett & th ...

, 1993) * ''Rio (Ballads and Bossa Novas)'' (Sunnyside, 1995) * ''Complete William the Conqueror Sessions'' (Sunnyside, 1995) * ''Burnin - with

Javon Jackson Javon Anthony Jackson (born June 16, 1965) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist, bandleader, and educator. He first became known as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers from 1987 until Blakey's death in 1990. and went on to release 22 recor ...

(

Criss Cross Jazz Criss Cross Jazz is a Dutch record company and label specializing in jazz. Criss Cross was established in 1980 by Gerry Teekens, a drummer and German language, German professor.

, 1997)

As Sideman

With

* '' Live at Montreux and Northsea'' ( Timeless, 1980) * ''

Art Blakey in Sweden ''Art Blakey in Sweden'' is a live album by drummer Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers recorded in Stockholm in 1981 and released on the Amigo label.Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

'' (Timeless, 1981) * '' Straight Ahead'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the j ...

, 1981) * '' Keystone 3'' (Concord Jazz, 1982) * ''

Oh-By the Way ''Oh-By the Way'' is an album by the drummer Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers recorded in 1982 in the Netherlands and released on the Dutch Timeless label.

'' (Timeless, 1982) With

Geoff Keezer Geoffrey Keezer (born November 20, 1970) is an American jazz pianist. Keezer was playing in jazz clubs as a teenager, playing piano for Art Blakey at age 18 and touring with Joshua Redman, Benny Golson and Ray Brown in his 20s. He has toured wi ...

* ''Waiting In The Wings'' (Sunnyside, 1989) With

Kevin Eubanks Kevin Tyrone Eubanks (born November 15, 1957) is an American jazz and fusion guitarist and composer. He was the leader of The Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno from 1995 to 2010. He also led the Primetime Band on the short lived ''The Jay Le ...

* ''Zen Food'' (Mack Avenue 2010) * ''The Messenger'' (Mack Avenue 2013) * ''East West Time Line'' (Mack Avenue, 2017) With

Makoto Ozone is a Japanese jazz pianist. Career He was born in Kobe, Japan. He began playing organ at two and by seven was an improviser. He appeared on Japanese television with his father from 1968 to 1970. At twelve he switched to piano after being impres ...

* ''After'' (Columbia 1986) With

Superblue Austin Lyons (born 25 May 1956), better known as Superblue, Super Blue and Blueboy, is a Trinidadian calypsonian, soca musician, and lyricist. Early life Lyons was born on 25 May 1956 in Point Fortin. His mother is a Grenadian and his fathe ...

* ''Superblue'' (1988,

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

)Allmusic
/ref> With Tony Williams * ''Civilization'' (Blue Note, 1987) * ''Angel Street'' (Blue Note, 1988) * ''Native Heart'' (Blue Note, 1990) * ''The Story of Neptune'' (Blue Note, 1992) * ''Tokyo Live'' (Blue Note, 1992)

References

1948 births Living people American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Berklee College of Music alumni Berklee College of Music faculty The Jazz Messengers members Musicians from Hampton, Virginia 21st-century saxophonists Jazz musicians from Virginia American male jazz musicians Superblue (band) members Sunnyside Records artists {{US-jazz-saxophonist-stub