Jack Wilson (musician)

Jack Wilson (born August 3, 1936 in Chicago , † May 10, 2007 in Sayville , New York) was an American pianist , arranger and composer of modern jazz .

Live and act

Jack Wilson's family moved to Fort Wayne when he was seven. From 1949 to 1954 he studied piano with Carl Atkinson at Fort Wayne College of Music . During this time he studied the music of George Shearing . At that time he also played tenor saxophone in a high school band and performed with small combos. At the age of 17 he played as a substitute pianist in James Moody's band. After graduating from high school, he studied for a year and a half at Indiana University , where he met Freddie Hubbard and Slide Hampton . He toured with a rock 'n roll band, lived in Columbus, Ohio , where he worked with the then unknown singer Nancy Wilson and Rahsaan Roland Kirk .

After a year in Columbus, Wilson moved to Atlantic City , where he was the head of the house band at the Cotton Club there and also played the organ. Dinah Washington , with whom he worked in 1957/58 , also performed in the club . a. to be heard on her Fats Waller Songbook 1957.

He then returned to Chicago, where he played with Gene Ammons , Sonny Stitt , Eddie Harris and Al Hibbler . His longest gig in this phase was with bassist Richard Evans , on whose album Richard's Almanac he participated in 1959. He then entered military service and became the first African-American musical director for an army band in Fort Stewart, Georgia . In 1961 he got diabetes , left the Army and returned to Dinah Washington's band, of which he was a member in 1961/62. Buddy Collette eventually invited him to move to Los Angeles . There he worked in Gerald Wilson's big band , as well as with Lou Donaldson , Herbie Mann , Jackie McLean and Johnny Griffin . Mostly, however, Wilson was employed as a session musician in the studios for recordings as well as for film and television productions. He has also accompanied artists such as Sammy Davis Jr. , Sarah Vaughan , Lou Rawls , Eartha Kitt , Julie London and Sonny & Cher .

In January 1963 Jack Wilson had the opportunity to record with his own formation; the album The Jack Wilson Quartet featuring Roy Ayers was created for Atlantic Records . You could also hear the pianist's own compositions such as Jackleg . Fifteen months later, another session for the sub-label Vault took place, which led to the invitation to record for the Blue Note label; In 1967 the album Easterly Winds was created there , on which u. a. Lee Morgan , Garnett Brown , Jackie McLean , Bob Cranshaw and Billy Higgins performed . After his last Blue Note session in 1968, Jack Wilson worked with the singer Esther Phillips until 1977; His album Innovations was also made this year , the first of three recordings for the Discovery label . Until the 1980s he finally worked as an accompanist for Lorez Alexandria , Tutti Camarata and Eddie Harris . He also worked with Clark Terry ( Memories of Duke ) in the 1980s .

Jack Wilson's last recordings were made for the Japanese DIW label, entitled In New York , in June 1993, which featured drummer Jimmy Cobb .

Discographic notes

• The Jack Wilson Quartet featuring Roy Ayers ( Atlantic Records , 1963)
• The Two Sides Of Jack Wilson (Atlantic Records, 1964)
• The Jazz Organs (Vault, 1964)
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini (Vault, 1965)
• Ramblin ' (Vault, 1966)
• Something Personal ( Blue Note Records , 1966)
• Easterly Winds (Blue Note Records, 1967)
• Song For My Daughter (Blue Note Records, 1969)
• Autumn Sunset ( Discovery , 1977)
• Innovations (Discovery, 1977)
• Margo's Theme (Discovery, 1979)
• In New York ( DIW , 1993)
• Call Me: Jazz from the Penthouse Century 67 (ed. 2019)

Web links

• Obituary in The Guardian
• Portrait at Blue Note

literature

• Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jack Wilson . Verve Records. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 29, 2008.