20/07/2025
Today Old Friends remembers Ernest "Ernie" Brooks Wilkins Jr. (July 20, 1922– June 5, 1999) an American jazz saxophonist, conductor and arranger who spent several years with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie. He was musical director for albums by Cannonball Adderley, Dinah Washington, Oscar Peterson, and Buddy Rich.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri. Wilkins grew up in a city rich with jazz blues where he was exposed to music early on. St. Louis in the 1930s shared many cultural influences with Kansas City - music that prioritized high quality over more experimental styles. Wilkins developed as a strong musician when he initially learned how to play piano and violin before taking up tenor saxophone in his teenage years. Ernie played tenor sax and clarinet with his brother Jimmy Wilkins, trombonist on "The Sumner High School Swingsters." Through band competition he met Clark Terry who was the band leader for the Vashon High School Swingsters, a rival high school band. Clark Terry was just a year and seven months older than described Ernie as being "Such a nice cat, His brother, Jimmy, too. Ernie wrote and arranged original jazz. It was so hip!" He later studied music formally at Wilberforce University in Ohio, where he honed his skills and began to understand the nuanced styles of jazz arrangement and composition. Wilkins enlisted and served in the U.S. military during the 1940s. While in the military, Ernie played the trumpet with band leaders Gerald Wilson and altonist Willie Smith.
After his military service, Wilkins joined piano virtuoso Earl Hines's last big band in 1948, which further established him as a respected jazz musician and introduced him to the big band composition that would later define his career. In 1949-1950, Wilkins recorded with George Hudson's band and did two sessions with backing Dinah Washington with the Teddy Stewart Orchestra. In 1951, Wilkins got a big break when his childhood friend and fellow jazz musician Clark Terry introduced him to Count Basie after Basie told Terry he was in need of an alto saxophonist. Terry immediately thought of Wilkins and reached out to him, asking him to join the band and “bring his alto,” despite Wilkins being primarily a tenor player at the time. Basie's band, struggling at the time, found new life through Wilkins’s arrangements. As Terry later stated, “The band was at its lowest and along came Ernie and wrote them a hit.” On May 6, 1951 Ernie and his brother performed with Count Basie' s band on a WNEW radio broadcast. Wilkins's first major arrangement for Basie in 1955 was “Every Day I Have the Blues”, a song originally written for vocalist Joe Williams that became a defining hit and one of the best-selling jazz records of all time. Other tracks like “Teach Me Tonight” and “Roll ’Em Pete” brought a fresh, energetic sound to Basie’s band, helping to revive its reputation and influence in the 1950s jazz scene. Other notable standards that Wilkins created for the Basie group included “Basie Power,” “Way Out Basie” and “Right On, Right On.” In the late 1950s, Wilkins performed with and arranged music for Gillespie’s band, and later wrote for Tommy Dorsey's and Harry James' orchestras. Ernie Wilkins provided the arrangements for The Count Basie/Sarah Vaughan Sessions which featured Frank Wess, Joe Newman, Snooky Young, Billy Mitchell, Al Grey, Freddie Green and Marshal Royal, along with Jones and Foster. Wilkins was able to reimagine the blues in his own way that coordinated well with Basie’s band making them a huge hit. The success of this arrangement led to the Basie band's return to stardom and helped Williams's career take off as well. He also arranged music for celebrated artists like Sarah Vaughan and Buddy Rich. Various sources concluded that James band played Mr. Wilkins's style as well or better than anyone including the Basie band. Wilkins' work during this period displayed his ability to tailor arrangements to the specific strengths of each band and artist, a skill that earned him widespread respect in the jazz community. In 1959 Ernie Wilkins collaborated with Melba Liston to write music as she toured Europe with the musical Free and Easy in the Quincy Jones orchestra. Wilkins was in charge of developing the hard-swinging Basie-type numbers.
In the 1960s Wilkins faced personal challenges which included a he**in addiction that led to a temporary decline in his career. Many stopped offering him work due to his struggles, but Clark Terry continued to support him by inviting him to collaborate on several projects throughout the 1970s in his group Big B-A-D Band. In the band Wilkins became a music director and principal composer. Wilkins also recorded music and was featured in a four-minute solo on “One Foot in the Gutter.” Wilkins remained in the band throughout the seventies. From 1971 to 1973 Wilkins was also the head of the artists and repertory division of Mainstream Records. Wilkins eventually overcame his addiction, returning to prominence as a composer and arranger. He married and had two children.
In 1979, Wilkins managed to remain close with his family and found a second home in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he would live for the rest of his life. His move to Europe represented both a fresh start and an opportunity to contribute to Copenhagen’s jazz scene, which was vibrant with both local and expatriate musicians. Wilkins assembled a 13-piece ensemble called the Almost Big Band. The idea was partly inspired by his wife.
The band was successful in part due to Wilkins's abilities to do swing scores. The Almost Big Band performed extensively, including a co-led Copenhagen gig Live at Montmartre (Storyville) in June 1975, with Horace Parlan on piano, Mads Vinding on bass and Bjarne Rostvold on drums. Wilkins was responsible for orchestral arrangements on 1972's self-titled album by Alice Clark (Mainstream Records), a highly sought-after collectible today. In recognition of his contributions, Wilkins received the 1981 Ben Webster Prize, one of Denmark’s highest jazz honors. In Copenhagen, a street was named after him: “Ernie Wilkins Vej” (Ernie Wilkins Street), reflecting the lasting impact he had on the local jazz scene. The Almost Big Band in Denmark recorded several albums, including performances at the Montreux Jazz Festival and with the Danish Radio Big Band. In the 1980s Ernie Wilkins and Clark Terry recorded albums in Denmark In 1983 he went to Paris to record some of his compositions with an all-star lineup, which included former colleagues from the Count Basie Orchestra. In January 1991 Wilkins visited England to conduct the Danish Radio Big Band in a performance of his works, including the recently rediscovered Suite for Jazz Band, a composition written 30 years prior. This concert in Croydon was recorded and released on the Hep label. The highlights of the 2006 Portugal Estoril Jazz Festival, revisited notable performers which included the Ernie Wilkins Almost Big Band.
Ernie Wilkins joined his Old Friends while in Copenhagen on June 5, 1999, following a stroke.
Wilkins's influence on big band jazz has left a lasting mark in jazz history, and his work has continued to inspire musicians and arrangers. Christian McBride mentioned Wilkins among his favorite arrangers, highlighting his role in post-swing big band music alongside figures like Gil Evans and Thad Jones. His arrangements, particularly those written for Dizzy Gillespie’s big band in the 1950s, are still performed and celebrated, showcasing Wilkins's enduring role in jazz culture.
Count Basie wrote in his memoir "Good Morning Blues, "Mr. Wilkins had a lot to do with how the band began to sound."
Photos:
Top let: Ernie Wilkins
Top right: Clark Terry & Ernie Wilkins Live at Montreux
Bottom left: The BIG New Band of the 60's
Bottom right: Ernie Wilkins Vej (Ernie Wilkins Street) in Copenhagen, Denmark
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