Bill Jennings (September 12, 1919 – November 29, 1978) was an American jazz guitarist and composer.^[1]

Career

Recording as both a leader and a sideman, Jennings has been called "the architect of soul jazz" and has influenced on jazz, soul, R&B, and blues guitar. B.B. King often mentioned Jennings as one of his biggest influences.^[2] Jennings recorded with such artists as Willis "Gator" Jackson, Brother Jack McDuff, Leo Parker, Bill Doggett, Louis Jordan, King Curtis, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald^[3] and unique in his ability to play in many styles, including swing, bop, jump blues, R&B, and pop.^[4] Jennings played on "Fever" by Little Willie John, which made the Billboard R&B chart in the US and peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[5]

A left-handed player, Jennings played guitar upside down, with the high strings at the top, which gave him a different approach to phrasing and bending the strings.^[6] Later in his career, he lost a finger on his fretting hand and began playing bass guitar.^[7]

Death

Jennings died at Veterans Hospital in Indianapolis on November 29, 1978. He was a United States Navy veteran and a member of the Church of God.^[8]

In 2023, the Killer Blues Headstone Project placed a headstone for Bill Jennings at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.^[9]

Discography

As leader

• Mood Indigo (King, 1956)
• Billy in the Lion's Den (King, 1957)
• Enough Said! (Prestige, 1959)
• Glide On (Prestige, 1960)

As sideman

With Willis Jackson

• Please Mr. Jackson (Prestige, 1959)
• Cookin' Sherry (Prestige, 1960)
• Blue Gator (Prestige, 1960)
• Thunderbird (Prestige, 1962)
• Together Again! (Prestige, 1965)
• Together Again, Again (Prestige, 1967)
• Star Bag (Prestige, 1968)
• Swivelhips (Prestige, 1969)
• Gator's Groove (Prestige, 1969)

With Brother Jack McDuff

• Brother Jack (Prestige, 1960)

With others

• Roy Brown, Laughing but Crying (Route 66, 1977)
• Kenny Burrell, Guitar Soul (Status 1965)
• The Charms, Glory Spots (Motherwit, 1991)
• Wild Bill Davis, Flying High (Everest, 1959)
• Bill Doggett, Moondust (Odeon 1959)
• Shakey Jake Harris, Good Times (Bluesville, 1960)
• Little Willie John, Fever (Regency, 1956)
• Etta Jones, The Jones Girl...Etta...Sings, Sings, Sings (King, 1958)
• Betty Roche, Singin' & Swingin' (Prestige, 1961)

References