Ernie Wilkins

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Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. (born July 20, 1922 in St. Louis, Missouri; died June 5, 1999 in Copenhagen) was a jazz arranger and writer who also played tenor saxophone. He might be best known for his work with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie. In addition to that he was musical director for albums by Cannonball Adderley, Dinah Washington, Oscar Peterson, and Buddy Rich.^[1]

In his early career he had played in a military band and was then in Earl Hines's last big band. In 1951 he began working with Basie he wrote songs like Every Day I Have The Blues. After 1955 he went free-lance as a jazz arranger and writer of songs as he was much in demand at that time. His success declined in the 1960s, but revived after work with Clark Terry. This led to his touring Europe and eventually settling in Denmark, where he would live for the rest of his life.^[2]

In Denmark he formed the "Almost Big Band" so he could write for a band of his own formation. The idea was partly inspired by his wife Jenny. Denmark at that time had several promising jazz musicians, it also had noted American ex-patriates like Kenny Drew and Ed Thigpen who joined the band. The band released four albums, but after 1991 he became too ill to do much with it.^[3]

Ernie Wilkins died on June 5, 1999 of a stroke.