Bill Sinclair

Bill Sinclair, longtime pianist with Connecticut’s Galvanized Jazz Band and a devoted interpreter of New Orleans-style jazz, died February 21. Sinclair spent decades performing traditional jazz in the Northeast and beyond, becoming an integral part of a band that has been one of the region’s most visible traditional jazz ensembles since the early 1970s.

A native of Trumbull, Connecticut, Sinclair studied piano privately with Donald Currier at Yale University. He gravitated early toward New Orleans piano and was especially influenced by the playing of Alton Purnell, whose rolling left hand and melodic right-hand lines Sinclair sought to absorb into his own playing. Before the Galvanized Jazz Band took shape, Sinclair was active in the area’s traditional jazz scene through the Easy Riders Jazz Band and the Nutmeg Jazz Band, working alongside musicians who would become key to the GJB, including Noel Kaletsky and Fred Vigorito. These groups helped sustain the revival of classic New Orleans jazz in Connecticut during the late 1950s and 1960s and pave the way for a surprise blossoming of the local scene in the 70s.

When the Galvanized Jazz Band formed around 1971, Sinclair became the group’s pianist and remained associated with it for decades until his 2010s retirement for health reasons. The band performed widely at jazz festivals and concerts and developed a dedicated following among revival jazz audiences, while maintaining a local residency in Connecticut for decades that drew in dozens of notable guest performers. Sinclair’s steady, rhythmically grounded piano playing helped anchor the ensemble’s sound, whether supporting the horns or shaping concise solos of his own. Bill also led his own band twice a week in addition to Sundays with the GJB.

Sinclair also appeared on over 35 recordings, including many on Big Bill Bissonnette’s Jazz Crusade label. Invitations took him to Europe, where he appeared in Germany, France, and Belgium annually for over 25 years.