William Richard Berry (September 14, 1930 – November 13, 2002)[1] was an American jazz trumpeter, best known for playing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra in the early-1960s, and for leading his own big band.
Born in Benton Harbor, Michigan,[1] Berry was the son of a bass player in a touring dance band.
In high school in Cincinnati, he switched to trumpet, which he played in a Midwest band led by Don Strickland.
[3] After his working with Ellington, he played with The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and led his own big band in New York.
"[2] Among the most successful of his own recordings[4] was Shortcake (Concord, 1978),[1] an album of jazz for small group in the Ellington style;[5] he appeared on many albums by other musicians, including Rosemary Clooney (Everything's Coming Up Rosie), Scott Hamilton (Scott Hamilton Is a Good Wind Who Is Blowing Us No Ill), Jake Hanna (Live at Concord), and Coleman Hawkins (Wrapped Tight).