Allan Songer Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 Bill Perkins passed away over the weekend here in LA. I have sung his praises here and elsewhere for many years and his death is hitting me kind of hard this afternoon. First Teddy Edwards and now Bill--my two favoirte local tenormen are now gone. Bill came up with the Woody Herman orchestra--he's the guy who had the daunting task of replacing Stan Getz in the band. Perk went on to play in both the Kenton band and the Terry Gibbs "Dream Band." But his best work was in small groups and best of all perhpas was his first small group effort for Pacific Jazz with John Lewis called "Grand Encounter"--this LP has been among my favorites for years and I can't reccomend it highly enough. Kelly got my last extra copy a few months ago and I know he treasures it as well . . . Bill spent the 70's and 80's in the Tonight Show band which allowed him to gig around LA on a regular basis--this is where I first heard and over the years I must have seen him peform at least 100 times. Some of his best later work can be found as part of the Bill Holman big band on the two fairly recent JVC XRCD releases and as part of the Bud Shank sextet with Conte Candoli. There were a couple of fine efforts for Contemporary Records in the mid-1980's as well. I last heard him live with the John Heard trio only about 4-5 weeks ago and he sounded stronger than he had in a long, long time. I know this show was recorded and I hope to get my hands on the tapes to see about a "farewell" release of some sort. It was a cookin' show. So long Bill, you were a gentleman and a hell of a reed man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 Sorry to hear this; I hadnt heard. I will echo Allan with the praises for Bill Perkins, an excellent sax player and one who should be looked up, especially since many dont speak of him as often as some of the other greats. He had excellent taste, something that is hard to define, but when it's there, stands out. Although Bill WAS on many discs, I cant recommend Grand Encounter: 2 Degrees East - 3 Degrees West any more enthusiastically. Bill Perkin's tenor play is so spot on and the selections are superb with a mix of offerings from Mercer, Lerner and Loewe, Gershwin, and even John Lewis, another underrated player, all with tasteful interplay from all involved(Perkins, Lewis, Hall, Heath, Hamilton), with one's appreciation actually improving with each listen The only drawback to this album is the availability (and the classic chessy cover). It's not the easiest to find although I will say the Japanese CD, although expensive, sounds VERY good (I have a copy too). I dont like jazz on CD nearly as much as vinyl, but will say that THIS example is worth the price, even at $35 you see online. Jazz, tubes, vinyl, and horns are a mix made in heaven, if there is such a place. Sorry to see Bill go. Sadly, there arent a lot of people coming up to take the place of these greats. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted August 13, 2003 Author Share Posted August 13, 2003 FHY-- On Monday night in Hollywood at the Musicians Union hall there will be a memorial/tribute to Bill Perkins. If you are around LA you shouldn't miss this event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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