Band of Liberty Welcomes |
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Wilson, a member of the faculty at Boston’s Berklee College of Music since 1965, worked with the Ambassadors on several tunes and brought some of his own compositions to rehearse as well. He offered the ensemble wonderful insights into jazz interpretation and rhythmic cohesion, sprinkled with many amusing anecdotes from his tours with the Woody Herman Orchestra in the 1960s. Phil Wilson has enjoyed a long-standing reputation as one of the world’s great jazz trombonists. In addition to performing with Woody Herman, he has played alongside Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Clark Terry, Buddy Rich, and Herbie Hancock, as well as with the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, Hamburg’s NDR Big Band, and the Netherlands’ Metropole Orchestra. Phil enjoys equal renown as a composer and arranger. He earned a Grammy nomination in 1969 for his version of “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” arranged for Buddy Rich’s band. In 1972, he was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra to write and conduct a piece for its children’s series. His arrangements are standards in collegiate stage band repertoires nationwide. Phil’s most profound impact, however, has been as a music educator. Formerly the chair of the jazz department at New England Conservatory of Music, he is a board member of the International Trombone Association, and has taught clinics at Harvard, Yale, Mellon Arts Center, the Frankfurt Conservatory of Music, Sydney Conservatorium, Kansas State University, and the University of California. For nearly four decades, he has led a successful after-hours rehearsal ensemble at Berklee. Initially known as the Thursday Night Dues Band, it became the Rainbow Band in 1985—a title intended to represent its diverse, international identity. Thank you, Phil, for a very enlightening day! |
