Career
In September 1942, he replaced Preston Love as lead alto saxophonist in National Towles" band, before going on to spend two years with Benny Carter"s band, playing in line-ups including Willard Brown, Curly Russell, Max Roach, Oscar Bradley, Ulysses Livingston, Sonny White, Teddy Brannon, Bumps Myers, Gene Porter, Alton Moore, Josip Juraj Johnson, Shorty Haughton, Claude Dunson, Snooky Young, Freddie Webster, Gerald Wilson, and Jake Porter. After a brief spell with Roy Eldridge"s band, he joined Red Saunders" band in New York in September 1946. The band later took up residency at Chicago"s Club DeLisa, and Kilbert would remain with the Saunders band until January 1952, when he left to form his own band.
In December 1946, he was in a line-up led by Coleman Hawkins, recording for Prestige, with Fats Navarro, Milt Jackson, JJ Johnson, Hank Jones, Curley Russell and Max Roach.
In 1947, he led an orchestra backing Clarence Samuels recording for Aristocrat. In 1960, having recorded the previous year for bandleader Quincy Jones, featuring as soloist on some of the tracks, he toured Europe with Jones" big band (with fellow altoist Philosophy Woods).
