Phillips Elder Wilson, Jr. (born January 19, 1937) is a jazz trombonist, arranger, and teacher. He has taught 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 ...

and the New England Conservatory of Music. He attended

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

and

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

Career

He began on piano but was advised to switch to trombone due to his having a mild form of dyslexia. This condition did not hamper his music, and by fifteen he had turned professional. He played for Herb Pomeroy's band from 1955 to 1957 and then toured with the Dorsey Brothers. In 1960 he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served on NORAD Band. Later, he worked with

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

and in the 1960s wrote music for

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

. He formed an ensemble that became one of the most well-regarded college jazz bands.Trombones Online
Wilson played with Louis Armstrong at the 1964 Grammy Awards. His arrangement of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" for Buddy Rich received a Grammy Award nomination. The City of Boston proclaimed December 9, 1995 Phil Wilson Day for his contributions to jazz education. In April 2004, Wilson was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from

during the 40th anniversary celebration of his Rainbow Band. In 2014, Wilson created an online video series with Paul The Trombonist that documented Wilson's pedagogy.

Notable students

* Terri Lyne Carrington * Cyrus Chestnut *

Hal Crook Hal Crook (born 28 July 1950 in Providence, Rhode Island) is a jazz trombonist. He has a degree from the Berklee College of Music and is considered to be a leading teacher and author in the field of jazz improvisation. Hal was a professor at Berk ...

Roy Hargrove Roy Anthony Hargrove (October 16, 1969 – November 2, 2018) was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved worldwide acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing style ...

* Aubrey Logan * Delfeayo Marsalis *

Elliot Mason Elliot Mason (born 13 January 1977) is an English jazz trombonist. He also plays the keyboard and the bass trumpet. He has been praised by such musicians as Michael Brecker for his technical facility and innovative harmonically complex improvisat ...

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 impre ...

Mika Pohjola Mika Pohjola ( (born December 1, 1971) is a Finnish-born jazz pianist and composer who resides in Stockholm. He is one of the most prolific Scandinavian jazz musicians in his generation. Biography Childhood in Helsinki, Finland 1971-87 Mika ...

* Paul The Trombonist *

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in th ...

Ernie Watts Ernest James Watts (born October 23, 1945) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues saxophonist who plays soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. He has worked with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and toured with the Rolling Stones. On Frank Zappa ...

Discography

* 1968: ''Prodigal Sun'' (Freeform) * 1975: ''The Sound of the Wasp'' (ASI) * 1976: ''That's All'' (Famous Door) with

John Bunch John Bunch (December 1, 1921 – March 30, 2010) was an American jazz pianist. Early life Born and raised in Tipton, Indiana, a small farming community, Bunch studied piano with George Johnson, a Hoosier jazz pianist. By the age of 14, he ...

* 1977: ''Live and Cookin'' (Outrageous) with

Howie Smith Howie Smith (born February 25, 1943), is a saxophonist, composer, jazz musician and educator Howie Smith was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania in 1943. He was an instructor for the University of Illinois Division of Music Extension from 1970 to ...

* 1980: ''New York Axis'' (Famous Door) with John Bunch, Vic Dickenson,

Butch Miles Butch Miles (born Charles J. Thorton, Jr. on July 4, 1944) is an American jazz drummer. He has played with the Count Basie Orchestra, Dave Brubeck, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne and Tony Bennett Career Miles, who ci ...

* 1980: ''Fruits'' (

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is cons ...

) * 1983: ''Live!! at the Berklee Performance Center'' (Shiah) with

* 1983: ''Live at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase'' (Shiah) * 1985: ''Latin America Tour'' (Shiah) * 1989: ''The Wizard of Oz Suite'' (

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has be ...

) * 1990: ''Pal Joey Suite'' (Capri) * 1995: ''AC-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive: Arlen Songs'' (Seaside) * 2005: ''The Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim'' (Capri)

As sideman

With

* ''

Woody Herman–1963 ''Woody Herman–1963'' is a 1963 studio album by Woody Herman and his big band. The album peaked at 136 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Reception Ken Dryden reviewed the album for Allmusic and wrote that "While this is hardly "the Swingin'est Big B ...

'' (

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is ...

, 1963)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Phil American jazz trombonists Male trombonists American music arrangers Berklee College of Music faculty 1937 births Living people 21st-century trombonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Matteson-Phillips Tubajazz Consort members