Birth name William DeBerardinis Labels Debut Records Record label Debut Records Years active 1950–1965 Genres Jazz | Instruments Trombone Role Trombonist Occupation(s) Trombonist Name Willie Dennis | |
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Born January 10, 1926
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ( 1926-01-10 ) Died July 8, 1965, New York City, New York, United States Albums Four Trombones ... The Debut Recordings Similar People Bennie Green, Jimmy Knepper, Frank Rehak, Eddie Costa, Eddie Bert | ||
Benny Goodman's Orchestra with Willie Dennis trombone - Feathers (1962)
Willie Dennis (né William DeBerardinis, January 10, 1926, Philadelphia – July 8, 1965, New York City) was an American jazz trombonist known as a big band musician but who was also an influential bebop soloist.
Contents
- Benny Goodmans Orchestra with Willie Dennis trombone Feathers 1962
- Career
- Relationships and family
- Style and influence
- Discography
- References
Career
After working with Elliot Lawrence, Claude Thornhill, and Sam Donahue, Dennis also performed with Charles Mingus, appearing on two of Mingus's more successful albums in 1959, Blues & Roots and Mingus Ah Um. In 1953, Dennis recorded Four Trombones (released in 1957) for Mingus's Debut Records. The other three trombones were J. J. Johnson, Kai Winding and Bennie Green.
The fullest recorded example of Dennis's solo work, however, is on a little-known 1956 Savoy disc by English pianist Ronnie Ball (like Dennis, a student of Lennie Tristano), All About Ronnie, in the company of Ted Brown, Wendell Marshall and Kenny Clarke.
In the late 1950s Dennis returned to his big band roots, joining Buddy Rich in 1959 after stints with Benny Goodman, (with whom he travelled to the Soviet Union in 1962) and Woody Herman.
In the 1960s, Dennis also performed often with Gerry Mulligan.
Relationships and family
He married singer Morgana King in 1961. They had no children.
They had only been married for a few years when he died in 1965 in an automobile accident in Central Park, New York City.
Style and influence
Dennis was renowned for his extremely fast articulation on the trombone, obtained by means of varying the natural harmonics of the instrument with minimal recourse to the slide (a technique known as "against the grain").
Discography
With Cannonball Adderley
With Manny Albam
With Al Cohn
With Mundell Lowe
With Gary McFarland
With Charles Mingus
With Gerry Mulligan
With Oliver Nelson
With Anita O'Day
With Buddy Rich
With Shirley Scott
With Zoot Sims
With Phil Woods