Bob Wilber

Bob Wilber and Sidney Bechet, Jimmy Ryan's (Club), New York, ca. Jan. 1947. Image: William P. Gottlieb

Bob Wilber (born 15 March 1928) is an internationally recognized American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist and band leader living in Chipping Campden, England. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber has been a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his career to present traditional jazz pieces in a contemporary manner. He played with many distinguished jazz leaders in the 1950s and 1960s, including Bobby Hackett, Benny Goodman, Sidney Bechet, Jack Teagarden and Eddie Condon. In the late 1960s, he was an original member of the World's Greatest Jazz Band, and in the early 70s, of Soprano Summit, a band which gained wide attention. In the late 1970s, he formed the Bechet Legacy Band and remains an active player, composer, and teacher.

Wilber was active in jazz education, including working as director of the Smithsonian Jazz Repertory Ensemble. He has written for films, including The Cotton Club. In his autobiography, Music Was Not Enough, he recounts his privileged childhood, pivotal meeting with his mentor, Sidney Bechet in 1946, and subsequent struggles as a musician in the 1950s and 1960s.

Discography

As leader

• Bob Wilber and His Jazz Band (Circle Sound, Inc., Album S-24, 1949)
• Bob Wilber and The Tuxedo Big Band, Volumes One & Two (Arbors Records)
• Everywhere You Go There's Jazz w/ International March of Jazz All Stars (Arbors Records)
• Nostalgia (Arbors Records)
• Soprano Summit (with Kenny Davern) (Chiaroscuro, 1975)
• Bob Wilber and the Scott Hamilton Quartet (Chiaroscuro, 1977)
• Summit Reunion (with Kenny Davern) (Chiaroscuro, 1989)
• Summit Reunion (with Kenny Davern and Flip Phillips) (Chiaroscuro, 1992)
• Yellow Dog Blues (with Kenny Davern) (Chiaroscuro, 1995)

As Co-Leader

With Dick Hyman

• A Perfect Match (Arbors Records)

With Kenny Davern

• Reunion At Arbors (Arbors Records)

With Wild Bill Davison and Cutty Cutshall

• With Strings Attached (Columbia Records, 1957)

With The Six (with John Glasel)

• The View from Jazzbo's Head (Bethlehem, 1956)

With Maxine Sullivan

• Close as Pages in a Book (Audiophile Records)

With Teddy Wilson

• Teddy Wilson and his All Stars (Chiaroscuro, 1976)

With Lilette Jenkins

• The Music of Lil Hardin Armstrong (Chiaroscuro, 1988)

MUSIC MINUS ONE RECORDINGS: 13 LP Recordings,including:-

• MMO 4204 For Saxes Only
• MMO 4209 Play Lead In A Sax Section
• MMO 4210 Days of Wine And Rose

CLASSIC JAZZ RECORDINGS: The Bechet Legacy at Birch Hall Live From London-Bob,Dave & Pug-Bob Wilber,Dave McKenna & Pug Horton

Arbors Records:- Swingin'The Changes The International All-Stars Bob Wilber Is Here Tres Amigos

• CJ 4 THE BECHET LEGACY - BIRCH HALL CONCERTS LIVE
• CJ 3 The Bechet Legacy [with Glenn Zottola] 2 CDs
• CJ 5 Spreadin’ Joy – The Music of Sidney Bechet
• CJ 8 New Clarinet in Town
• CJ 9 Blowin’ The Blues Away – with Clark Terry/Dick Wellstood

References

• Wilber, Bob. Music Was Not Enough. Oxford University Press, 1988.
• Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Grove's Dictionaries, 1998.
• http://www.subjazz.com/wilber.htm