Shadow Wilson
Rossiere "Shadow" Wilson (September 25, 1919 – July 11, 1959) was an American jazz drummer. Much of Wilson's early work was with swing jazz orchestras. He played with Frankie Fairfax's Campus Club Orchestra in 1936, with Lucky Millinder in 1939, and following this, with Benny Carter, Tiny Bradshaw, Lionel Hampton, Earl Hines, Count Basie, and Woody Herman. Later in his career, he played with Illinois Jacquet, Erroll Garner, Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Newman, Lee Konitz, Sonny Stitt, Phil Woods, Gene Quill, and Tadd Dameron. The drummer was known to sit in at the famed Minton's Playhouse. His nickname came from "his beautiful light touch with brushes," in the words of bassist Peter Ind. Wilson died of meningitis in July 1959. He never recorded as a leader. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Yonkers (city in Westchester County, New York, United States), Died July 11, 1959 (New York City (most populous city in the United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1943 - 1955
Roles Represented in DAHR: drums
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 34 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | D7VB-2854 | 10-in. | 12/18/1947 | Jet propulsion | Illinois Jacquet Orchestra ; Illinois Jacquet | Jazz octet | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | D7VB-2855 | 10-in. | 12/18/1947 | King Jacquet | Illinois Jacquet Orchestra ; Illinois Jacquet | Jazz octet | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | D7VB-2856 | 10-in. | 12/18/1947 | Try me one more time | Illinois Jacquet Orchestra ; Illinois Jacquet ; Russell Jacquet | Jazz octet, with vocal refrain | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | D7VB-2857 | 10-in. | 12/18/1947 | Embryo | Illinois Jacquet Orchestra ; Illinois Jacquet | Jazz octet | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | D7VB-2889 | 10-in. | 12/19/1947 | Riffing at 24th street | Illinois Jacquet Orchestra ; Illinois Jacquet | Jazz nonet | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | D7VB-2890 | 10-in. | 12/19/1947 | Mutton leg | Illinois Jacquet Orchestra | Instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | D7VB-2891 | 10-in. | 12/19/1947 | Symphony in Sid | Illinois Jacquet Orchestra ; Illinois Jacquet | Instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | D7VB-2892 | 10-in. | 12/19/1947 | A Jacquet for Jack the bellboy | Illinois Jacquet Orchestra ; Illinois Jacquet | Jazz nonet | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Excelsior | OR-145-A | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | No-good man blues | Lucky Thompson All-Stars | instrumentalist, drums | ||
| Excelsior | OR-145-B | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Why not | Lucky Thompson All-Stars | instrumentalist, drums | ||
| Excelsior | OR-146-A | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Irresistable you | Lucky Thompson All-Stars | instrumentalist, drums | ||
| Excelsior | OR-146-B | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Phace | Lucky Thompson All-Stars | instrumentalist, drums | ||
| Decca | 71818 | 3/1/1944 | How high am I? | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | instrumentalist, drums | |||
| Decca | 71820 | 3/1/1944 | The truth of the matter | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | instrumentalist, drums | |||
| Decca | 71821 | 3/1/1944 | Hey! Now let's jive | Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five | instrumentalist, drums | |||
| Decca | 75147 | 8/17/1949 | 'Tain't nobody's business if I do | Billie Holiday | instrumentalist, drums | |||
| Decca | 75148 | 8/17/1949 | Baby get lost | Billie Holiday | instrumentalist, drums | |||
| Decca | 88963 | 11/7/1955 | Theme for a mellophone | Don Elliott Quartet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
| Decca | 88964 | 11/7/1955 | Vibes impressions | Don Elliott Quartet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
| Decca | 88965 | 11/7/1955 | Strike up the band | Don Elliott Quartet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
| Decca | 88966 | 11/7/1955 | Beans again | Coleman Hawkins Quartet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
| Decca | 88967 | 11/7/1955 | The man I love | Coleman Hawkins Quartet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
| Decca | 88968 | 11/7/1955 | Foolin' around-1 | Coleman Hawkins Quartet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
| Decca | 88969 | 11/7/1955 | Time on my hands | Coleman Hawkins Quartet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
| Decca | 88970 | 11/8/1955 | Alpha | Jerome Richardson Quartet | instrumentalist, drums |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Wilson, Shadow," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/351214.
Wilson, Shadow. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/351214.
"Wilson, Shadow." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Shadow Wilson
Discogs: Shadow Wilson
Allmusic: Shadow Wilson
Grove: Shadow Wilson
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Wilson, Shadow - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n91113752
Wikidata: Shadow Wilson - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q356886
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/90667375
MusicBrainz: Shadow Wilson - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/61d00986-5d2f-4c8b-ad32-14c7253487cf
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1502128 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1502128
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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