Bill Potts

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William Orie "Bill" Potts (born April 3, 1928 in Arlington , Virginia , † February 15, 2005 in Fort Lauderdale , Florida ) was an American jazz pianist , composer , arranger and music teacher .

Live and act

Bill Potts played the Hawaiian guitar as a child and the accordion as a teenager . Under the influence of Count Basie's music , he switched to piano in high school. During his military service in the US Army from 1949 to 1955, he transcribed pieces for army bands; he also arranged for Joe Timer and the ensemble of Willis Conover , THE Orchestra . He wrote four titles for their Brunswick - LP from 1954 and participated in recordings of live shows, which also guest musicians such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie participated.

Around 1956 Potts led the house band at Olivia Davis' Patio Lounge in Washington, DC ; Lester Young had an engagement there, and Potts persuaded Young to record with him on two evenings. These recordings appeared as the Lester Young Washington, DC Sessions.

In 1957 Potts worked primarily as a composer, arranger and musician in Freddy Merkle's Jazz Under the Dome album. Shortly thereafter, he was seriously injured in a traffic accident that forced him to sit out for several months. Not until 1959 was he fully recovered when he recorded a session under his own name under the title The Jazz Soul of Porgy and Bess . The album consisted of jazz interpretations of Gershwin - opera Porgy and Bess ; Contributors included Art Farmer , Bill Evans , Bob Brookmeyer, and Phil Woods .

In the years that followed, Potts worked in New York City before returning to the Washington area, where he played mostly locally and toured with Ella Fitzgerald , Stan Getz and Woody Herman . From 1974 to 1990 he taught music theory at Montgomery College and led a big band for occasional appearances at the Washington nightclub Blues Alley . In 1995 he retired to Fort Lauderdale, where he died of a heart attack in February 2005 .

Discography

  • The Jazz Soul of Porgy and Bess ( Blue Note Records , 1959)
  • Bye Bye Birdie ( Colpix , 1963)
  • 555 Feet High (Jazz Mark, 1987), et al. a. with Paul Wingo
  • 555 Feet High (Jazz Crusade, 1988)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Potts, Bill
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Potts, William Orie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz pianist, composer, arranger and music educator
DATE OF BIRTH April 3, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Arlington , Virginia
DATE OF DEATH February 15, 2005
Place of death Fort Lauderdale , Florida