William Earl Kilson (born August 2, 1962) 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 ...

drummer. Kilson was born in Washington, D.C.. He started on trumpet at ten, switched to trombone at 11, then to drums at 16. He studied at the

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 ...

from 1980 to 1985 and took private lessons from

Alan Dawson Alan Dawson (July 14, 1929 – February 23, 1996) was an American jazz drummer and percussion teacher based in Boston. Biography Dawson was born in Marietta, Pennsylvania and raised in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Serving in the U.S. Army during th ...

during 1982–89. Following this he did a tour of Europe with Walter Davis. He has played with

Ahmad Jamal Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones, July 2, 1930) is an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and educator. For six decades, he has been one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. Biography Early life Jamal was born Fr ...

(1989),

Dianne Reeves Dianne Elizabeth Reeves (born October 23, 1956) is an American jazz singer. Biography Dianne Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan, into a musical family. Her father sang, her mother played trumpet, her uncle is bassist Charles Burrell, and h ...

(1989–95),

Greg Osby Greg Osby (born August 3, 1960) is an American saxophonist and composer. Biography Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Osby studied at Howard University, then at the Berklee College of Music. He moved to New York City in 1982, where he played with Jaki ...

(1991),

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

(1991–98),

Steps Ahead Steps Ahead is an American jazz fusion group. History The group arose out of spontaneous sessions at Seventh Avenue South, a jazz club in New York City owned by saxophonist Michael Brecker and trumpeter brother Randy Brecker. The first three al ...

(1993),

Tim Hagans Tim Hagans (born August 19, 1954) is an American jazz trumpeter, arranger, and composer. He has been nominated for three Grammy Awards: Best Instrumental Composition for "Box of Cannoli" on ''The Avatar Sessions'' (Fuzzy Music, 2010); Best Contem ...

(1993 and subsequently),

Terumasa Hino is a Japanese jazz trumpeter. He is considered one of Japan's finest jazz musicians. His instruments include the trumpet, cornet, and flügelhorn. Early life He was born in Tokyo, Japan, and his father was a trumpeter and tap dancer. Hino start ...

(1994–98), Bob James (1995 and subsequently),

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

(since 1997),

Bob Belden James Robert Belden (October 31, 1956 – May 20, 2015) was an American saxophonist, arranger, composer, bandleader, and producer. As a composer he may be best known for his Grammy Award winning orchestral jazz recording, ''Black Dahlia'' (2001) ...

(1997) and

Kevin Mahogany Kevin Bryant Mahogany (July 30, 1958 – December 17, 2017) was an American jazz vocalist who became prominent in the 1990s. Particularly known for his scat singing, his singing style has been compared with those of Billy Eckstine, Joe William ...

(1998). Other associations include

Kirk Whalum Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...

Freddie Jackson Frederick Anthony Jackson (born October 2, 1956) is an American singer. Originally from New York, Jackson began his professional music career in the late 1970s with the California funk band Mystic Merlin. Among his well–known R&B/soul hits are ...

Chris Botti Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an award-winning American trumpeter and composer. In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album ''Impressions''. He was also nominated in ...

, Donald Brown, Bob James, and

Paula Cole Paula Cole (born April 5, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. After gaining attention for her performances as a vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, she released her first album, ''Harbinger (Paula Cole album), Harbing ...

. Kilson is perhaps best known for his work with Holland. He plays on Holland's

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-nominated 1999 album ''Prime Directive'' and his Grammy-winning 2002 release ''What Goes Around''. Kilson has also led his own quartet ensemble along with

James Genus James Genus (January 20, 1966) is an American jazz bassist. He plays both electric bass guitar and upright bass and currently plays in the Saturday Night Live Band. Genus has performed as a session musician and sideman throughout his career, havin ...

and Tim Hagans. His debut release as a leader, ''Pots and Pans'', appeared in 2006.

Discography

* ''Pots & Pans'' (Arintha Star, 2006) * ''Descension Rising'' (2016)

As sideman

With

* ''Man-Talk for Moderns Vol. X'' (Blue Note Records, 1991) With

* ''Princejazz'' (Somethin' Else, 1994) * ''Purple Rain'' (Somethin' Else, 1994) * ''When Doves Cry'' (Metro Blue, 1994) * ''Tapestry'' (Jazz Heritage, 1998) * ''Black Dahlia'' (Blue Note, 2001) With

* ''When I Fall in Love'' (Columbia, 2004) * ''To Love Again'' (Columbia, 2005) * ''In Boston'' (Decca, 2009) With

Carla Cook Carla Cook is a Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist. Biography Cook was drawn to a life of music at an early age. As a student at Cass Technical High School she played string bass in the school orchestra, studied piano and voice on weekends, and s ...

* ''It's All About Love'' (MAXJAZZ, 1999) * ''Dem Bones'' (MAXJAZZ, 2001) * ''Simply Natural'' (MAXJAZZ, 2002) With Michael Franks * ''Watching the Snow'' (Koch, 2003) * ''Time Together'' (Shanachie, 2011) * ''The Music in My Head'' (P-Vine, 2018) With

* ''Audible Architecture'' (Blue Note, 1995) * ''Animation Imagination'' (Blue Note, 1999) * ''Re-Animation Live!'' (Blue Note, 1999) With

* '' Points of View'' (ECM, 1998) * ''

Prime Directive In the fictional universe of '' Star Trek'', the Prime Directive (also known as "Starfleet General Order 1", "General Order 1", and the "non-interference directive") is a guiding principle of Starfleet that prohibits its members from interferin ...

'' (ECM, 1999) * ''

Not for Nothin' ''Not for Nothin' '' is English jazz bassist Dave Holland's studio album released on August 21, 2001 via the ECM label. Saxophonist Chris Potter, trombonist Robin Eubanks, vibraphonist Steve Nelson and drummer Billy Kilson return from Hollan ...

'' ECM, 2001) * ''

What Goes Around "What Goes Around" may refer to: *"What Goes Around", a song by Ringo Starr from his 1992 album ''Time Takes Time'' * ''What Goes Around'' (Dave Holland album), 2002 * ''What Goes Around'' (Statik Selektah album), 2014 * ''What Goes Around...'', ...

'' (ECM, 2002) * '' Extended Play: Live at Birdland'' (ECM, 2003) * ''

Overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

'' (Dare2, 2004) With Bob James * ''Joy Ride'' (Warner Bros., 1999) * ''Take It from the Top'' (Koch, 2004) * ''Urban Flamingo'' (Koch, 2006) * ''Espresso'' (Evosound, 2018) * ''Joined at the Hip'' (Evosound, 2019) With

* ''I Remember'' (Blue Note, 1991) * ''Art & Survival'' (EMI, 1994) * ''Quiet After the Storm'' (Blue Note, 1994) With others *

Johnny Adams Laten John Adams Jr. (January 5, 1932 – September 14, 1998), was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest ...

, ''The Verdict'' (Rounder, 1995) *

Philip Bailey Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, Wi ...

, ''Soul On Jazz'' (Heads Up, 2002) *

Walter Beasley Walter Beasley is an American saxophonist, a professor of music at the Berklee College of Music, and founder of Affable Publishing and Affable Records. Biography Beasley grew up in El Centro, California. By the age of 13 he was singing in Span ...

, ''Walter Beasley'' (Polydor, 1987) *

Terence Blanchard Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is an American trumpeter and composer. He started his career in 1982 as a member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, then The Jazz Messengers. He has composed more than forty film scores and performed ...

, ''

Simply Stated ''Simply Stated'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard. The album was released by Columbia Records on May 5, 1992. Background ''Simply Stated'' marked Blanchard's second album as a band leader. Blanchard explained that ...

'' (Columbia, 1992) * Donald Brown, ''At This Point in My Life'' (Space Time, 2001) * Tom Browne, ''R'N'Browne'' (Hip Bop, 1999) *

Larry Carlton Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts such as Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. He has participated in thousands of recording sessions, recorde ...

, ''Deep Into It'' (Warner Bros., 2001) *

, ''Sapphire Blue'' (Bluebird, 2003) *

and

Tak Matsumoto is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist and main composer of the rock duo B'z, the best-selling music act in their native Japan. He also has a successful solo career where, in addition to winn ...

, "Take Your Pick" (335 Records, 2010) *Grammy Winner *

Billy Childs William Edward Childs (born March 8, 1957) is an award-winning American composer, jazz pianist, arranger and conductor from Los Angeles, California, United States. Early life When he was sixteen he attended the Community School of the Performing ...

, ''Portrait of a Player'' (Windham Hill, 1993) *

, ''Courage'' (Decca, 2007) *

Continuum Continuum may refer to: * Continuum (measurement), theories or models that explain gradual transitions from one condition to another without abrupt changes Mathematics * Continuum (set theory), the real line or the corresponding cardinal number ...

, ''Act One'' (Space Time, 2004) *

Taylor Eigsti Taylor Eigsti (born September 24, 1984) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Eigsti's trio features bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Eric Harland. He is also a member of Eric Harland Voyager, Kendrick Scott Oracle, and Gretchen Parlato's ...

, ''Lucky to Be Me'' (Concord Jazz, 2006) *

Robin Eubanks Robin Eubanks (born October 25, 1955) is an American jazz and jazz fusion slide trombonist, the brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks and trumpeter Duane Eubanks. His uncles are jazz pianist Ray Bryant and bassist Tommy Bryant. His mother, Vera Eub ...

, ''Klassik Rock Vol. 1'' (ArtistShare, 2014) *

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

, ''Escape'' (Escapade Music, 1996) * Michael Gibbs, ''Nonsequence'' (Provocateur,) * Great Jazz Trio, ''Blue Minor'' (Eighty-Eight's, 2008) *

Antonio Hart Antonio Hart (born September 30, 1968) is a jazz alto saxophonist. He attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, studied with Andy McGhee at Berklee College of Music, and has a master's degree from Queens College, City University of New York. H ...

, ''All We Need'' (Downtown Sound, 2004) *

Masabumi Kikuchi was a Japanese jazz pianist and composer known for his unique playing style. He worked with many diverse musicians, including Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Gary Peacock and Paul Motian, and collaborated with Gil Evans a ...

Quintet, ''Acoustic Boogie'' (Somethin' Else, 1995) * Terumasa Hino-Masabumi Kikuchi Quintet, ''Moment'' (Somethin' Else, 1996) * Joe Locke, ''State of Soul'' (Sirocco, 2002) *

, ''My Romance'' (Warner Bros., 1998) *

Andy McKee Andy McKee (born April 4, 1979, in Topeka, Kansas) is an American fingerstyle guitar player who has released six studio albums, two extended plays, and one live album to date. A number of YouTube videos featuring McKee's highly-technical guitar ...

, ''Sound Roots'' (Mapleshade, 1997) *

Bill Mobley Joseph William Mobley (born April 7, 1953) is an American jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player. Early life and education Mobley was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Both of his parents were musicians. Mobley learned piano, his mother's instrument, from ...

, ''Mean What You Say'' (Space Time, 1999) *

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song "Midnight at the Oasis" and has ...

, ''Jazzabelle'' (Stony Plain, 1993) *

Austin Peralta Austin Topper Peralta (October 25, 1990 – November 21, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer from Los Angeles, California. He was the son of film director and Z-Boys skateboarder Stacy Peralta. Early life Austin Peralta was bor ...

, ''Maiden Voyage'' (Eighty-Eight's, 2006) *

Lonnie Plaxico Lonnie Plaxico (born September 4, 1960) is an American jazz double bassist. Biography Plaxico was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a musical family, and started playing the bass at the age of twelve, turning professional at fourteen (playing both ...

, ''Rhythm & Soul'' (Sirocco, 2003) *

Josh Roseman Josh Roseman (born 5 June 1967) is an American jazz trombonist. His nickname is "Mr. Bone". He studied in Newton North High School. Roseman was born in Boston, and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. Roseman toured Jamaica with The ...

, ''Treats for the Nightwalker'' (Enja, 2003) *

Spyro Gyra Spyro Gyra is an American jazz fusion band that was formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1974. The band's music combines jazz, R&B, funk, and pop music. The band's name comes from ''Spirogyra'', a genus of green algae which founder Jay Beckenstein ...

, ''The Deep End'' (Heads Up, 2004) *

John Stoddart Sir John Stoddart (6 February 1773 – 16 February 1856) was an English journalist and lawyer, who served as editor of '' The Times''. Biography Stoddart, who was born at Salisbury, was the eldest son of John Stoddart, who was a lieutenan ...

, ''Wings to Walk This Road'' (Reprise, 2003) * Steve Wilson, ''Soulful Song'' (MAXJAZZ, 2003) *

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

, ''Songs of Joy & Peace'' (Sony Classical, 2008)

References

Billy Kilson
at Modern Drummer *Mark Gilbert, "Billy Kilson". '' Grove Jazz'' online. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kilson, Billy American jazz drummers Musicians from Washington, D.C. Living people Berklee College of Music alumni 1962 births 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians