Phil Wilson

Few have played as active a role in
Berklee’s evolution into the internationally
acclaimed institution it is today as Phil
Wilson. Before joining the faculty in
September 1965, Wilson had already
made a name for himself as a cutting-
edge trombonist and big-band arranger,
recording with Woody Herman, Clark
Terry, and Sarah Vaughan, and
performing with Louis Armstrong,
Tony Bennett, and the Dorsey
Brothers. The busy Berklee teacher
became an arranger for Buddy Rich,
garnering a Grammy nomination for
“Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” the last Top 40
big-band hit. As a trombonist, he
continued to perform with such artists
as Lionel Hampton, Herbie Hancock,
Joe Henderson, Thad Jones, and

Frank Sinatra.

During Wilson’s first year at Berklee,
1965, he formed an after-hours student
band that became one of the college’s
most prestigious ensembles—and one of
its leading ambassadors. In 1967, the
band presented its first end-of-semester
concert, a custom that continues to this
day. By the early ’70s, Wilson’s Thursday
Night Dues Band had become one of
the country’s top college jazz bands,
serving numerous community efforts,
and making high-profile appearances at
the Boston Globe Jazz Festival; Boston
Sackbut Week, an event co-led by
Wilson for 14 years and imitated around
the United States; and Symphony Hall
with the BSO. In 1973, to reflect the
band’s composition, it became the
International Dues Band.

By the early ’80s, the band was
performing on national television and at
jazz festivals, and in 1985, as the number
of international students grew, Wilson
changed its name again. The Berklee
Rainbow Band embarked on a six-week
Latin American and Caribbean tour for
the United States Information Service.

In recent years, the Rainbow Band
has been in constant demand, both
locally and around the world, performing
at France’s Juan-les-Pins Jazz Festival,
IAJE, the San Jose Jazz Festival,
Cleveland’s Tri-C JazzFest, and
Autumn Eve: A Tribute to Woody
Herman at the Hollywood Bowl.

The Rainbow Band All-Stars have
been featured twice at Vineyard Vibes
on Martha’s Vineyard.

Many of today’s most respected
musicians began their careers in
Wilson’s student bands, including Alan
Broadbent ’69, Terri Lyne Carrington
’83, Cyrus Chestnut ’85, Hal Crook ’71,
George Garzone ’72, Roy Hargrove ’89,
Antonio Hart *91, Abraham Laboriel, Sr.’72,
Abe Laboriel, Jr. 93, Tony Lada ’72,
Rob Mounsey 75, Tiger Okoshi 75,
Greg Osby ’83, Makoto Ozone 83,
Danilo Pérez ’88, Bill Pierce ’73,
Claudio Roditi 70, John Scofield ’73,
and Ernie Watts ’66.

One of the most beloved and
committed professors at Berklee for
40 years, Wilson has produced and
performed on many of his former
students’ CDs. At Berklee, he has
developed new approaches to brass
technique, and made significant
contributions to the arranging curriculum.
He continues to be in demand as a
trombone soloist worldwide, has
presented clinics at universities on
five continents, and is on the Board of
Directors of the International
Trombone Association. The former
chair of the jazz-centric, Afro-American
Department at the New England
Conservatory of Music, he also chaired
Berklee’s Trombone Department until
1974. On December 9, 1995, declared
Phil Wilson Day by Mayor Thomas
Menino of Boston, the college honored
Wilson with the International Dues
Band Reunion Concert.

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