Bill Dillard (2)

American Jazz guitarist and composer. Born c.1926 Lewisburg, Tennessee. Died June 17, 1956 in a fire (age of 30). Dillard came from a large musical family that moved to San Jose, California, where he began to take guitar lessons. His earliest known recording is the 1954 debut release of Harry Babasin’s Jazz Pickers entitled 1st Time Out, a jam session where Dillard takes extended solos. In 1955, he held the guitar chair in Red Norvo’s band. The only other known recording that Dillard solos on is Vibe-Rations by Norvo which was released in 1956 just a few months after Dillard’s passing. The LP notes read: "In memoriam - Bill Dillard, one of the great new jazz stars, and guitarist on these sessions, lost his life shortly after these recordings were made. The tragedy thus deprived the jazz world of his genius less than a decade after his idol, Charlie Christian, passed into the great beyond. These sides were Bill's last known recordings." Dillard plays on seven of the eight tracks on Vibe-rations, with numerous solos. He also is credited with composing two of the songs with Norvo "Rhee! Oh! Rhee" and "Porsche".