Billy Drewes

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William "Billy" Drewes (born October 1, 1952 in New York City ) is an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and flutist.

Live and act

Drewes studied from 1970 at the Berklee College of Music . During this time he worked with Tony Bennett , Gary Burton and the Boston Symphony Orchestra and performed with his own bands. The first recordings were made in 1974 when he played in Bobby Paunetto's big band . On his return to New York in 1975 he joined the bands of Lionel Hampton and Eddie Palmieri and toured with Woody Herman .

In the 1980s he became a member of Paul Motian's band, which at the time also included Joe Lovano and Bill Frisell . He also made recordings with Kenny Werner , Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Harvie Swartz and Bill Frisell. He toured the US and Europe with the band and played on the album Psalm . He then worked with Michael Bocian and Lyle Mays , with whom he performed at concerts and recorded albums. He also worked with Nikolais Dance Company and the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater .

In the 1990s Drewes was a member of the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra and is now a member of the subsequent Vanguard Jazz Orchestra , with which he recorded the Grammy- winning album Monday Night Live at the Vanguard . Further musical partners were Rez Abbasi , Herbie Hancock , Eddie Gomez , Randy Brecker , John Scofield , Christopher Dell , Toninho Horta , John Abercrombie , Fred Hersch , Myriam Alter , Tino Derado , Rosa Passos / Ron Carter , Kendra Shank and Peter Erskine .

From the 2000s, Drewes continued to work with musicians such as Jim McNeely , Dave Ballou , Steve LaSpina , Mark Soskin , Joe Lovano , Simon Shaheen , Kendra Shank , Andy LaVerne , Anat Cohen , David Berkman , Jay Anderson, and with Mike Holober & The Gotham Jazz Orchestra ( Hiding Out , 2019). With Gary Versace , bassist Scott Lee and drummer Jeff Hirschfield he forms the quartet Cloning America , which released the album For Which It Stands in 2011 . In the field of jazz, according to Tom Lord , he was involved in 111 recording sessions between 1974 and 2019, most recently with Duduka Da Fonseca & Helio Alves . In 2018 he worked on David Berkman's album Six of One .

Discographic notes

  • Duets with Kenny Werner , 1996
  • The Medicine Show with Jamey Haddad , 2005
  • Dick Oatts / Billy Drewes / Walt Weiskopf Jam Session, Vol. 18 , 2006
  • Cloning Americana: For Which it Stands (Sunnyside, 2010)
  • Under One Sun (Oberlion, 2016), big band

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed November 23, 2019)
personal data
SURNAME Drewes, Billy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Drewes, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician (saxophone, clarinet and flute)
DATE OF BIRTH October 1, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City