Vance E. Wilson (February 28, 1925 – August 10, 2010) was an American jazz alto and tenor sax player based in PhiladelphiaJimmy Heath and Joseph McLaren (2010) I Walked With Giants: The Autobiography of Jimmy Heath, p. 15. Temple University Press at Google Books. Retrieved April 30, 2013. most known for playing lead tenor and alto sax on Clifford Brown's first recording in 1952, The Beginning and the End (Columbia, 1973),Porter, Lewis (1999) John Coltrane: his life and music, p. 34. University of Michigan Press at Google Books. Retrieved April 30, 2013.Review 6 Oct 1951 Billboard at Google Books. Retrieved April 30, 2013.Clifford Brown Discography Retrieved April 29, 2013. as a member of Chris Powell's Five Blue Flames, together with Osie JohnsonPorter, Lewis (1999) John Coltrane: his life and music, p. 92. University of Michigan Press at Google Books. Retrieved April 30, 2013. at a double recording session in Chicago.Clifford Brown Catalog Retrieved April 29, 2013.
After settling in Philadelphia in around 1946,Porter, Lewis (1999) John Coltrane: his life and music, p. 55. University of Michigan Press at Google Books. Retrieved April 29, 2013. Wilson studied classical music at the Ornstein School of Music together with John Coltrane and Bill Barron. He also played in the first house band at Philadelphia's Club 421, a lineup led by Charlie Rice, and featuring Bob Bushnell (musician), Red Garland and Johnny Hughes,Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians Retrieved April 30, 2013. as well as leading his own bands there.
In 1958 he joined Steve Gibson and the Red Caps.Sax man Vance E. Wilson dies at 85 Philly.com. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
A friend of Count Basie's, he didn't join his orchestra because he was tired of touring, one of the reasons he retired from the music business in the 1960s.
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