Wilbur Ware | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Wilbur Bernard Ware |
| Born | September 8, 1923 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | September 9, 1979 (aged 56) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Double bass |
Wilbur Bernard Ware (September 8, 1923 – September 9, 1979) was an American jazz double bassist.[1] He was a staff bassist at Riverside in the 1950s, recording with J.R. Monterose, Toots Thielemans, Tina Brooks, Zoot Sims, and Grant Green.
Career
Ware taught himself to play banjo and bass. In the 1940s, he worked with Stuff Smith, Sonny Stitt, and Roy Eldridge.[2] He recorded with Sun Ra in the early 1950s.[1] Later in the 1950s, settling in New York City, Ware played with Eddie Vinson, Art Blakey, and Buddy DeFranco.[2] His only album recorded as a leader during his lifetime was The Chicago Sound, from 1957 when he worked for Riverside.[2] He made jazz instructional albums for Music Minus One. In 1958, Ware was one of 57 jazz musicians to appear in the photograph A Great Day in Harlem.[3]
Ware was a member of the Thelonious Monk quartet from 1957 to 1958. He also performed with the Sonny Rollins Trio live at the Village Vanguard.
Narcotics addiction resulted in his return to Chicago in 1963 and a period of incarceration. He was inactive musically for about six years.[1] In 1969, Ware played with Clifford Jordan, Elvin Jones and Sonny Rollins.[2] He died from emphysema in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1979.[2]
Discography
As leader
- The Chicago Sound with Johnny Griffin (Riverside, 1957)
As sideman
With Art Blakey
- Originally (Columbia, 1982)
With Tina Brooks
- The Waiting Game (Blue Note, 1961)
With Sonny Clark
- Dial "S" for Sonny (Blue Note, 1957)
With Walt Dickerson
- Tell Us Only the Beautiful Things (Whynot, 1975)
- Walt Dickerson 1976 (Whynot, 1976)
With Kenny Dorham
- 2 Horns / 2 Rhythm (Riverside, 1957)
With Kenny Drew
- A Harry Warren Showcase (Judson, 1957)
- A Harold Arlen Showcase (Judson, 1957)
- I Love Jerome Kern (Riverside, 1957)
- This Is New (Riverside, 1957)
- Pal Joey (Riverside, 1957)
With Matthew Gee
- Jazz by Gee (Riverside, 1956)
With Grant Green
- Remembering (Blue Note, 1961)
With Johnny Griffin
- Johnny Griffin (Argo, 1956)
- Johnny Griffin Sextet (Riverside, 1958)
- Way Out! (Riverside, 1958)
With Ernie Henry
- Presenting Ernie Henry (Riverside, 1956)
- Seven Standards and a Blues (Riverside, 1957)
- Last Chorus (Riverside, 1956–57)
With Clifford Jordan
- Jenkins, Jordan and Timmons (Prestige, 1957)]
- Starting Time (Jazzland, 1961)
- In the World (Strata-East, 1969 [1972])
- Remembering Me-Me (Muse, 1977)
With Herbie Mann
- The Jazz We Heard Last Summer (Savoy, 1957)
With Blue Mitchell
- Big 6 (Riverside, 1958)
With Thelonious Monk
- Thelonious Himself (Riverside, 1957)
- Monk's Music (Riverside, 1957)
- Mulligan Meets Monk (Riverside, 1957)
- Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane (Jazzland, 1961)
With J. R. Monterose
- J. R. Monterose (Blue Note, 1956)
With Lee Morgan
- Lee Morgan Indeed! (Blue Note, 1956)
With Cecil Payne
- Zodiac (Strata-East, 1973)
With Rita Reys
- The Cool Voice of Rita Reys (Columbia, 1956)
With Sonny Rollins
With Zoot Sims
- Zoot! (Riverside, 1956)
With Toots Thielemans
- Man Bites Harmonica! (Riverside, 1958)
References
- ^ a b c Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz, p. 674. Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e Colin Larkin, ed. (2002). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 476/7. ISBN 1-85227-937-0.
- ^ "Musicians". A-great-day-in-harlem.com. Retrieved October 29, 2019.