William "Bill" Bell

1936 - 2017

William "Bill" Bell

July 12, 1936-March 18, 2017

William "Bill" Bell, a prominent Bay Area pianist, also known as the "Jazz Professor" because of his dual roles as an educator and musician passed away at his East Bay home surrounded by his family. The cause was heart failure.
Bill was born in East Moline, IL the oldest of five children born to William and Lottie Bell. Raised in a musical family, he started to play the piano by ear at an early age. Later, he earned a bachelor's degree from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, and went on to receive a Master of Arts from the University of Iowa. After teaching in Traer, IA as a high school band director, Bill moved his young family to the SF Bay Area in 1964 to further his career in jazz. During the early years he played with his own jazz groups while also collaborating with jazz greats such as Buddy Montgomery and Louis Bellson. In 1967, he recorded "The Nifty Cat Strikes West" with a Count Basie group that included Roy Eldridge, Louie Bellson and Eric Dixon.
Concomitantly, Bill made significant contributions in music education, both in the Oakland Public Schools and in U.C. Berkeley's Young Musician Program. During the late 60s, Bill took a leave from teaching to become a full-time musician. He became musical director and pianist for jazz singer Carmen McRae and worked in Hollywood arranging and composing. Around 1971, Bill made a life-choice to return to his family, and that year, he accepted a music instruction position at the College of Alameda. He went on to become Chairman of the Music Department and serve there for 32 years. He also was active at Stanford University as teacher, lecturer and director of the Stanford Jazz Band and as an adjunct professor at U.C. Berkeley.
While serving as an educator, Bill was also an active musician, continuing a prevalent theme of his life. He released his album "Basically Bill Bell," in 1979 and received commissions from the San Francisco Symphony and the Oakland Youth Symphony for compositions.
Bill's album, "The Jazz Professor" released in 1995, was his most profoundly personal expression of music, drawing upon his abounding love for his family. All the songs were original compositions. The song "David," dedicated to his oldest son, who predeceased him, was the most challenging composition for him, as he sought to capture his son's essence in it.
Later, he founded the Oakland Bay Area Community Chorus (OBACC) through which he furthered his passion for teaching and preserving the African-American spiritual tradition. Bill would go on to record and release two more CDs: "Just Swing Baby," in 2003 and "The Feeling of Jazz," in 2009. He was a recipient of the SFJAZZ Beacon Award in 2005 given in recognition of substantial lifetime achievement in jazz.
Generations of his students have achieved national prominence in the music industry, including Benny Green, Joshua Redman, Raphael Saadiq, Daryl Coley, Michael Wolfe, Ledisi, John Faddis, Larry Grenadier, Ambrose Akinmusire, Will Kennedy, Samora Pinderhughes and Elena Pinderhughes.
Bill was exceptionally warm and charismatic. Simply put, he loved people and people loved him. Throughout his life he set an example, not only of discipline and excellence in music, but also of the value in being a good husband, father, and community leader. He is survived by his wife, Dr. Gale Bell, a retired psychologist, daughter Debbie Bell-Cole (Nola and Jaelen) and son Thomas. His son, David, a Harvard graduate, died of heart failure in 1991.
A musical celebration of Bill's life was held on March 28, 2017, at Taylor United Methodist Church, Oakland, CA. The family wishes to suggest contributions to Stanford Medicine in William Bell's memory. Visit https://williambellweb.wordpress.com for complete instructions or https://makegift.stanford.edu.