The Party Boys
Bill and Bo Winiker
Where: All over town, but most predictably weekend brunch at Skipjack’s:
Saturday at 2 Brookline Ave., Brookline (617-232-8887) and Sunday at 500
Boylston St., Boston (617-536-3500).
Ages: 51 (Bill); 48 (Bo)
Years performing in Boston: Over 40
Biggest gig: The 2000 Rembrandt Ball at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Favorite song: “What a Wonderful World” (Bill); “The Dolphin” (Bo)
Top request: “In the Mood”
For over 40 years, Bill and Bo Winiker have been bringing their expansive repertoire to the ears, hearts, and feet of Greater Boston.
Bill is a Boston Conservatory-trained percussionist. When not sitting behind his trap set, he takes time to shake hands and share stories with his fans. The younger and slighter Bo is a New England Conservatory-trained trumpet player who has gigged with the the New York Philharmonic and Billy Joel. When not playing, he keeps the beat with synchronized finger snaps and foot taps.
The Winikers got their start playing klezmer with their parents in the 1950s. Today, Bill and Bo oversee seven full orchestras whose members are mixed and matched to suit the occasion, which can range from hospital visits and charity balls to weddings and bar mitzvahs. They opened Faneuil Hall Marketplace, closed the Boston Garden, and accompanied Julia Child as she cooked.
From 1975 to 1991, the Winikers played six days a week at the Parker House Hotel. Now they have regular weekend gigs at Skipjacks in Boston and Brookline.
Set among the contemporary fixtures of the main dining room, the Winikers invite people in with their warm smiles and uptempo arrangements.
Between them are a horn and one snare drum with a pair of brushes. But that’s enough for them to perform just about any song from Bill’s collection of 7,000 albums.
And if you should happen to draw a blank on a song’s title, just ask. Bill and Bo are happy to chat, even in the middle of a number.
“I love reminding people of their old favorites,” Bill says. “It makes the morning great for me, too.”
Bill and/or Bo and a handful of their best sidemen entertain diners with Big Band era tunes to contemporary favorites.
“They really make the brunch extra special,” one fan says, singing along between bites.
