Wilby Fletcher

Wilbert "Wilby" Fletcher was an American jazz drummer.

Early life
Fletcher began playing drums at the age of four, attended the George Gray Elementary School in Wilmington and graduated from the P.S. DuPont High School. He then studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Already at the age of 15 he started working as a professional drummer.

Career
In the 1970s he succeeded Alphonse Mouzon in McCoy Tyner's band, with whom he made their first appearance at The Jazz Showcase in Chicago without having rehearsed first. He has also worked with Ron Carter, Grover Washington Jr., Charles Fambrough, Lonnie Liston Smith, Bobby Watson and the violinist John Blake, on whose albums Maiden Dance and A Twinkling of an Eye he contributed; he also appeared with Michel Petrucciani, Roy Ayers and Harry Belafonte.

Later years
For several years Fletcher was house drummer at Trump Castle in Atlantic City, New Jersey and worked for the Alvin Ailey Dance Company in New York City. Worked in the field of jazz Fletcher with 31 recording sessions between 1974 and 2007.

Legacy
In 2018, a street in Wilmington, Delaware was named after Wilby Fletcher.

Discography
Per AllMusic.com

With Roy Ayers

 * Change Up The Groove (1974)

With McCoy Tyner

 * Atlantis (1975)
 * Dimensions (1984)