Don Wilkerson was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 soul jazz

Soul jazz

Soul jazz is a development of jazz incorporating strong influences from blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues in music for small groups, often an organ trio featuring a Hammond organ.- Overview :Soul jazz is often associated with hard bop. Mark C...

 / R&B tenor saxophonist born in Moreauville, Louisiana

Moreauville, Louisiana

Moreauville is a village in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 922 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Moreauville is located at ....

, probably better known for his Blue Note Records

Blue Note Records

Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...

 recordings in the 1960s as bandleader

Bandleader

A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....

 with guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

 Grant Green

Grant Green

Grant Green was a jazz guitarist and composer....

. Prior to signing with the label, he worked frequently with Cannonball Adderley. Some of his earliest recording were done in the 1950s as a sideman for Amos Milburn

Amos Milburn

Amos Milburn was an African American rhythm and blues singer and pianist, popular during the 1940s and 1950s...

 and Ray Charles

Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...

.

In Houston in the early 1970s, he played in the Sonny Franklin Big Band with Tom Archia

Tom Archia

Ernest Alvin Archia, Jr. , was a jazz tenor saxophonist. He took "Texas Tom" as his marquee name.Archia was born, in Groveton, Texas...

, Arnett Cobb

Arnett Cobb

Arnett Cobb was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Cobb was born Arnette Cleophus Cobbs in Houston, Texas. His musical career began with the local bands of Chester Boone, from 1934 to 1936, and Milt Larkin, from 1936 to 1942...

, and his bandmate from the Ray Charles band, Joe Bridgewater

Joe Bridgewater

Joe Bridgewater was an American soul jazz/R&B trumpeter, probably better known for his recordings with Ray Charles.In Houston in 1973, he played in the Sonny Franklin Big Band with Tom Archia, Arnett Cobb, Cedric Haywood and his bandmate from the Ray Charles band, Don Wilkerson, with guest...

, with guest appearances by Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Many of the band's arrangements were done by Cedric Haywood

Cedric Haywood

Cedric Haywood was an American jazz pianist.Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Haywood played as a teenager in a high school band with Arnett Cobb...

.

As Leader

• The Texas Twister
  The Texas Twister
  The Texas Twister is the debut album by American saxophonist Don Wilkerson recorded in 1960 and released on the Riverside label.-Reception:...
  
   (Riverside
  Riverside Records
  Riverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
  
  , 1960)
• Elder Don
  Elder Don
  Elder Don is an album by American saxophonist Don Wilkerson recorded in 1962 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "records like this go a long way in proving that Wilkerson was one of the great underrated...
  
   (Blue Note
  Blue Note Records
  Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
  
  , 1962)
• Preach Brother!
  Preach Brother!
  Preach Brother! is an album by American saxophonist Don Wilkerson recorded in 1962 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "The result is another fine record that proves Wilkerson was one of the best,...
  
   (Blue Note, 1962)
• Shoutin'
  Shoutin'
  Shoutin' is an album by American saxophonist Don Wilkerson recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 4 stars and stated "the high quality of the music on this album, as well as Wilkerson's other three records,...
  
   (Blue Note, 1963)

As Sideman

With Ray Charles

Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...

• Yes Indeed!
  Yes Indeed!
  Yes Indeed!! is a R&B/soul album by Ray Charles, released in 1958 by Atlantic. It was the second of three Atlantic LPs that compiled Charles' hit singles for the label...
  
   (Atlantic
  Atlantic Records
  Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
  
  , 1958)