Bill Berry

Bill Berry launched his own big-band leadership in the Los Angeles region during the early 1970s, drawing motivation from the period he spent alongside Duke Ellington. Following his 1955 release from the Air Force, he enrolled at the Cincinnati College of Music and later at Berklee. Prior to his Ellington tenure (1961-1964), Berry performed with the orchestras of Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson. Once he departed Ellington, he joined the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis orchestra (1966-1968), directed his own New York Big Band, and took on studio assignments. Relocating to Los Angeles in 1971, he established the L.A. Big Band and sustained its part-time direction across subsequent decades. Additional activities included touring alongside Louie Bellson and participating in the Monterey Jazz Festival’s jazz-education initiatives. An accomplished veteran of mainstream trumpet, Bill Berry has documented multiple sessions for Concord in both small-group and big-band formats.