Porter Kilbert
Porter Kilbert (June 10, 1921 – October 23, 1960) was a jazz alto and tenor saxophonist. In September 1942, he replaced Preston Love as lead alto saxophonist in Nat Towles' band, before going on to spend two years with Benny Carter's band, playing in line-ups including Willard Brown, Curly Russell, Max Roach, Oscar Bradley, Ulysses Livingston, Sonny White, Teddy Brannon, Bumps Myers, Gene Porter, Alton Moore, J.J. Johnson, Shorty Haughton, Claude Dunson, Snooky Young, Freddie Webster, Gerald Wilson, and Jake Porter. After a brief spell with Roy Eldridge's band, he joined Red Saunders' band in New York in September 1946. The band later took up residency at Chicago's Club DeLisa, and Kilbert would remain with the Saunders band until January 1952, when he left to form his own band. In December 1946, he was in a line-up led by Coleman Hawkins, recording for Prestige, with Fats Navarro, Milt Jackson, JJ Johnson, Hank Jones, Curley Russell and Max Roach. In 1947, he led an orchestra backing Clarence Samuels recording for Aristocrat. In 1954, he was a member of the Horace Henderson big band and in 1955 and 1956, he participated in a series of "battles of the saxes" with Tom Archia at the C&C Lounge. In 1960, having recorded the previous year for bandleader Quincy Jones, featuring as soloist on some of the tracks, he toured Europe with Jones' big band (with fellow altoist Phil Woods). |
Birth and Death Data: Born Baton Rouge (capital city of Louisiana, United States, and seat of East Baton Rouge Parish), Died October 23, 1960 (Chicago (city and county seat of Cook County, and largest city in State of Illinois, United States of America) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1946 - 1952
Roles Represented in DAHR: alto saxophone
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 26-33 of 33 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decca | 82636 | 4/4/1952 | You had better change your ways | Donna Hightower | instrumentalist, alto saxophone | |||
| Decca | 82637 | 4/4/1952 | Don't you think I ought to know | Donna Hightower | instrumentalist, alto saxophone | |||
| Decca | 82638 | 4/4/1952 | The face in the mirror | Donna Hightower | instrumentalist, alto saxophone | |||
| Decca | 82639 | 4/4/1952 | Farewell blues | Donna Hightower | instrumentalist, alto saxophone | |||
| Decca | 82640 | 4/2/1952 | Don't cry baby | Floyd Smith | instrumentalist, alto saxophone | |||
| Decca | 82641 | 4/2/1952 | After hours | Floyd Smith | instrumentalist, alto saxophone | |||
| Decca | 82642 | 4/2/1952 | Me and you | Floyd Smith | instrumentalist, alto saxophone | |||
| Decca | 82643 | 4/2/1952 | You may be trash to someone | Floyd Smith | instrumentalist, alto saxophone |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Kilbert, Porter," accessed January 6, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/325228.
Kilbert, Porter. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 6, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/325228.
"Kilbert, Porter." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 6 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Porter Kilbert
Discogs: Porter Kilbert
Allmusic: Porter Kilbert
Grove: Porter Kilbert
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Kilbert, Porter, 1921-1960 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2001060792
Wikidata: Porter Kilbert - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1433195
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/24793555
MusicBrainz: Porter Kilbert - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/6f9e440f-e43b-4dcf-a93c-6c24a1cbf5f7
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