| Bill Jennings | |
| Birth Date: | 12 September 1919 |
| Birth Place: | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Genre: | Jazz, R&B, soul jazz |
| Occupation: | Musician |
| Instrument: | Guitar |
| Years Active: | 1954–1968 |
| Past Member Of: | Jack McDuff, Willis "Gator" Jackson, King Curtis, Louis Armstrong, Bill Doggett, Louis Jordan, Ella Fitzgerald |
Bill Jennings (September 12, 1919 – November 29, 1978) was an American jazz guitarist and composer.[1]
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]
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]
With Willis Jackson
With Brother Jack McDuff
With others