Artist: Wilbur Ware


Wilbur Ware was an American jazz double bassist. He was a regular bassist for the Riverside r ecord label in the 1950s, and recorded regularly in that decade with  Johnny GriffinKenny DorhamKenny Drew, and  Thelonious Monk. He also appeared on records released by J.R. Monterose,  Toots Thielemans, Sonny Clark, Tina Brooks, Zoot Sims, and Grant Green, among others. 

Ware grew up in Chicago, where he taught himself to play drums, banjo, and bass while playing at church. In the 1940s, he worked with Stuff Smith, Sonny Stitt, and Roy Eldridge. He recorded with Sun Ra in the early 1950s. Later in the 1950s, settling in New York City,

Ware played with Eddie Vinson, Art Blakey, and Buddy DeFranco. His only album recorded as a leader and released during his lifetime was The Chicago Sound, from 1957 when he worked for Riverside. 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

Ware was a member of the Thelonious Monk quartet from 1957 to 1958. He also performed and recorded in 1957 with the Sonny Rollins Trio at the Village Vanguard. Largely self taught, Ware had an unorthodox but highly unique and percussive approach to the bass. 

Further information about Wilbur Ware is found here.

This content was excerpted from the Wikipedia article, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilbur_Ware, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).

Wilbur Ware Quintet Featuring Johnny Griffin - The Chicago Sound ( Full Album )

1957 Johnny Griffin Wilbur Ware The Chicago Sound Full Album | bernie's bootlegs

Wilbur Ware: Videos

We Wish You Well, Wilbur Ware (Live)