Dick Wilson

A fine, Coleman Hawkins-inspired tenor saxophonist, Wilson played with Andy Kirk's Clouds of Joy but remains obscure today, probably because he died young (he was only thirty) and never played with the highest-profile bands, spending much of his short career with such now-forgotten groups as Gene Coy's Happy Aces and Zack Whyte's band. Wilson's father played guitar and violin, his mother piano and guitar. The family moved to Seattle, Washington when Wilson was about five. His first instrument was piano. He attended high school in Los Angeles, then moved back to Seattle, where ...