Phil Wilson
Phillips Elder Wilson, Jr. (born January 19, 1937) is a jazz trombonist, arranger, and teacher. He has taught at the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music.
Phil Wilson
Paul The Trombonist · CC BY 4.0
- Name
- Phil Wilson
- Birth Name
- Phillips Elder Wilson Jr.
- Born
- 19 January 1937
- Birthplace
- Belmont, Massachusetts, U.S.
- Occupation
- Musician, composer, educator
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- jazz
- Education
- Phillips Exeter Academy
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q2085745
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
Biography
Biography
He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and New England Conservatory.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Phil Wilson • Birth Name — Phillips Elder Wilson Jr. • Born — 19 January 1937 • Birthplace — Belmont, Massachusetts, U.S. • Genre — Jazz • Occupation — Musician, composer, educator • Instrument — Trombone • Years Active — 1950–present
Documentary record
Phil Wilson, recorded as a trombonist, jazz musician, arranger, musician and composer, was born on 19 January 1937. Phil Wilson was born in Belmont, according to the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek records the fuller form Belmont, Massachusetts.
Career
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 and in the 1960s wrote music for Buddy Rich. He formed an ensemble that became one of the most well-regarded college jazz bands. 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 Berklee College of Music 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.
As sideman
As sideman
With Woody Herman • Woody Herman–1963 (Philips, 1963)1964
Notable students
• Terri Lyne Carrington • Cyrus Chestnut • Hal Crook • Roy Hargrove • Aubrey Logan • Delfeayo Marsalis • Elliot Mason • Makoto Ozone • Mika Pohjola • John Scofield • Ernie Watts
Discography
• 1968: Prodigal Sun (Freeform) • 1975: The Sound of the Wasp (ASI) • 1976: That's All (Famous Door) with John Bunch • 1977: Live and Cookin (Outrageous) with Howie Smith • 1980: New York Axis (Famous Door) with John Bunch, Vic Dickenson, Butch Miles • 1980: Fruits (Circle) • 1983: Live!! at the Berklee Performance Center (Shiah) with Makoto Ozone • 1983: Live at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase (Shiah) • 1985: Latin America Tour (Shiah) • 1989: The Wizard of Oz Suite (Capri) • 1990: Pal Joey Suite (Capri) • 1995: AC-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive: Arlen Songs (Seaside) • 2005: The Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim (Torrey plump)
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Phil Wilson (trombonist), revision 1353484922 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Hitchcock, Paul. Phil Wilson and NDR Big Band. www.wmky.org. 3 March 2019.
- 2.Kelsey, Chris. Phil Wilson. AllMusic.
- 3.Trombones Online
- 4.Phil Wilson. www.trombone.net. 17 July 2017.
- 5.In Their Own Words. Berklee.
- 6.Edwards: Trombones: Artists: Phil Wilson. Edwards Instruments.
- 7.Buddy Rich Mercy, Mercy Chart History. Billboard.
- 8.Berklee Today. Berklee.
- 9.Small, Mark. Alumni Profile: Aubrey Logan '10. Berklee.
- 10.Feather, Leonard. This Is the Spawning of the Age of Marsalis. Los Angeles Times. 5 November 1989.
- 11.Biographies. Mason Brothers Quintet.
- 12.The official home page for Ernie Watts. ErnieWatts.com.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 24 August 2026.
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