Bill Perkins

Who was Bill Perkins?

William Reese "Bill" Perkins was a cool jazz saxophonist and flutist popular on the West Coast jazz scene, known primarily as a tenor saxophonist. Born in San Francisco, California, Perkins started out performing in the big bands of Woody Herman and Jerry Wald. He also worked for the Stan Kenton orchestra, which subsequently led to his entry into the cool jazz idiom. He began performing with musicians like Art Pepper and Bud Shank, to name just a few. He was also a member of The Tonight Show Band from 1970–1992. He is probably most remembered, however, for playing tenor for The Lighthouse All-Stars. When gigs became scarce in the 1960s, Perkins had a parallel career as a recording engineer.