Bill Wells (born c. 1963)Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Bill Wells", in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, is a Scottish

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

, pianist, guitarist and composer.

Biography

Wells is completely self-taught, and began performing in clubs in Scotland in the late 1980s. He began arranging his own work and initially offered these to Bobby Wishart, but when Wishart declined the offer, Wells formed his own Bill Wells Octet, which has included Lindsay Cooper, Alastair Morrow, Robert Henderson, John Longbotham, Phil and Tom Bancroft. Wells' style of experimental jazz takes influences from

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role ...

, and

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

. Wells has collaborated with several prominent Scottish independent rock and pop musicians, including with David Keenan of

Telstar Ponies Telstar Ponies are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1994. Their musical style varies considerably but displays influences from Krautrock, folk (especially latterly), and experimental noise. History They were formed in 1994 by David ...

and John Hogarty of BMX Bandits in the group Phantom Engineer, and with

Stevie Jackson Stephen Jackson (born 16 January 1969) is a Scottish musician and songwriter. He plays lead guitar and sings in the Glasgow-based indie band Belle and Sebastian. Career Jackson's early musical influences include Madness, ABBA, Orchestral Ma ...

and

Isobel Campbell Isobel Campbell (born 27 April 1976) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and cellist. She rose to prominence at age nineteen as a member of the indie pop band Belle & Sebastian, but left the group to pursue a solo career, first as The Gentle Waves ...

Belle & Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" comes ...

in live performances and also in the studio; Wells recorded the ''Ghost of Yesterday'' album with Campbell, and Jackson played on Wells' ''Incorrect Practice'' album. During 2006 he received a

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council ( gd, Comhairle Ealain na h-Alba, sco, Scots Airts Cooncil) was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the ...

'Tune Up' commission for a tour of Scotland.

Discography

Stefan Schneider *''Pianotapes'' Solo *''The Viaduct Tuba Trio Plays The Music of Bill Wells'' *''Lemondale'' With Phantom Engineer *''Phantom Engineer'' (1996) With Future Pilot A.K.A. *''The Bill Wells Octet Vs. Future Pilot A.K.A.'' (1999)

Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also ca ...

The Bill Wells Trio *''Incorrect Practice'' (2000) Geographic *''Also in White'' (2002) Geographic With Isobel Campbell *''Ghost of Yesterday'' (2002) Creeping Bent With Maher Shalal Hash Baz *''Osaka Bridge'' *''GOK'' (2009) Geographic With Tape *''Fugue'' (2010)

Thrill Jockey Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago. History Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...

With Aidan Moffat *'' Everything's Getting Older'' (2011) *''The Most Important Place in the World'' (2015) As Bill Wells & Friends *''Nursery Rhymes'' (2015) EP *''Dilf_77 would like to chat'' *''Cruel summer''

References

External links

Scottish Arts Council article on Bill Wells

Bill Wells at Domino Records

* ttps://archive.today/20130222051144/http://immunerecordings.net/fugue/ Fugue by Tape & Bill Wells at Inmune Recordings
Video Kama Aina & Bill Wells , Glasgow Sky

Video Bill Wells & Lorna Gilfedder & Bradien
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Bill 1960s births Living people People from Falkirk Scottish jazz composers British jazz bandleaders Scottish jazz pianists Scottish jazz double-bassists British jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists British male pianists 21st-century pianists 21st-century double-bassists Male jazz composers 21st-century British male musicians