Biography All Music Guide
Group Members: The John Bunch Trio, Gus Johnson, John Bunch With Phil Flanigan, Bud Freeman, Bobby Hackett & Vic Dickenson, Bobby Hackett, Bobby Hackett & His Orchestra, Bobby Hackett & Bob Wilber Sextet, Bobby Hackett (trompette) et son orchestre, Bobby Hackett And His Jazz Band, Ralph Sutton, Ralph Sutton & Kenny Davern, Ralph Sutton, Jay McShann, Ralph Sutton And Johnny Varro, Ralph Sutton And Dick Cary, Ralph Sutton & His Allstars, Ralph Sutton feat. Jon-Erik Kellso, Brian Ogilvie, Marty Grosz, Ralph Sutton Trio, Bob Wilber And The Scott Hamilton Quartet, Bob Wilber, Bob Wilber And the International March Of Jazz All-Stars, Bob Wilber And Dick Hyman, Bob Wilber And The Tuxedo Big Band Of Toulouse France, Bob Wilber & Kenny Davern, The Bob Wilber Big Band, The Bob Wilber & Dany Doritz Quintet, Bob Wilbur, Billy Butterfield, Billy Butterfield And His Orchestra, Billy Butterfield and His Modern Dixie Stompers, Bob Haggart's Swing Three, The All-Stars, Lou McGarity Quintet, John Bunch
All Music Guide:
This all-star group was founded in 1968 by Dick Gibson at his sixth annual Jazz Party. Despite the impossibility of living up to its outrageous name, the band was indeed the finest in Dixieland/classic jazz. Co-led by Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart, and also featuring Billy Butterfield, Bud Freeman, Bob Miller, and Ralph Sutton, the WGJB originally alternated standards with Dixiefied versions of current pop tunes like "Mrs. Robinson," but its finest album (Live on Atlantic) sticks to hot jamming. After the personnel changed a bit (Eddie Miller and Dick Wellstood passed through the band), the group broke up in 1978, although reunions by Lawson and Haggart in later years sometimes revived the name. Their recordings for Project 3, Atlantic, and their own World Jazz label are pretty much all worth getting.
