Willie Dennis

Willie Dennis (née William DeBerardinis, January 10, 1926, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – July 8, 1965, New York City) was an American jazz trombonist   known as a big band musician but who was also an influential bebop soloist. He died in an automobile accident in New York in 1965.

Career
After working with Elliot Lawrence, Claude Thornhill, and Sam Donahue, Dennis also performed with Charles Mingus, appearing on two of Mingus's more successful albums in 1959, Blues & Roots and Mingus Ah Um. In 1953, Dennis recorded Four Trombones (released in 1957) for Mingus's Debut Records. The other three trombones were J. J. Johnson, Kai Winding and Bennie Green.

The fullest recorded example of Dennis's solo work, however, is on a little-known 1956 Savoy disc by English pianist Ronnie Ball (like Dennis, a student of Tristano, ), All About Ronnie, in the company of Ted Brown, Wendell Marshall and Kenny Clarke.

In the late 1950s Dennis returned to his big band roots, joining Buddy Rich in 1959 after stints with Benny Goodman, (with whom he travelled to the Soviet Union in 1962) and Woody Herman.

In the 1960s, Dennis also performed often with Gerry Mulligan.

Relationships and family
He married singer Morgana King in 1961. They had only been married for a few years when he died in 1965 in an automobile accident in Central Park, New York City. They had no children.

Style and influence
Dennis was renowned for his extremely fast articulation on the trombone, obtained by means of varying the natural harmonics of the instrument (a technique known as "against the grain").

Discography
With Cannonball Adderley With Manny Albam With Mundell Lowe With Gary McFarland With Charles Mingus With Oliver Nelson With Buddy Rich With Shirley Scott
 * Four Trombones (Debut, 1957) - with J. J. Johnson, Kai Winding and Bennie Green
 * Domination (Capitol, 1965)
 * Jazz Goes to the Movies (Impulse!, 1962)
 * Themes from Mr. Lucky, the Untouchables and Other TV Action Jazz (RCA Camden, 1960)
 * Point of Departure (Impulse!, 1963)
 * Blues & Roots (Atlantic, 1959)
 * Mingus Ah Um (Columbia, 1959)
 * The Complete Town Hall Concert (Blue Note, 1962 [1994])
 * Full Nelson (Verve, 1963)
 * Richcraft (Mercury, 1959)
 * Rich Versus Roach (Mercury, 1959)
 * The Driver (EmArcy, 1960)
 * Great Scott!! (Impulse!, 1964)