Bill Potts

Who was Bill Potts?

Bill Potts was an American jazz pianist and arranger.

Potts played Hawaiian guitar as a child and accordion in his teens. He picked up piano in high school after hearing Count Basie. While serving in the Army from 1949 to 1955 he transcribed charts for Army bands; he also arranged for Joe Timer and Willis Conover's ensemble, THE Orchestra. He wrote four of the songs on THE Orchestra's 1954 Brunswick Records LP, and recorded some of their live shows, which occasionally featured guest appearances from Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

By 1956 Potts was leading a house band at Olivia Davis' Patio Lounge in Washington, D.C.. Lester Young booked an engagement there, and Potts convinced Young to record with him on two of the evenings. These recordings were later released as the critically acclaimed Lester Young in Washington, D.C. sessions.

In 1957, Potts worked extensively as a composer, arranger, and performer for Freddy Merkle's Jazz Under the Dome album. Soon after this he was injured in a car crash and ended up in a body cast for several months. He had fully recovered by 1959, when he released a session under his own name entitled The Jazz Soul of Porgy and Bess. This album, consisting of jazz reinterpretations of many songs from George Gershwin's opera Porgy & Bess, featured Art Farmer, Bill Evans, Bob Brookmeyer, and Phil Woods.