Gerald Wilson — A Career Retrospective (Part 3)
Even though he was out of the spotlight as a leader during the fifties, he continued to lead bands in Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as play trumpet and arrange for record dates.
From his 1954 ensemble, here is:
He made a record date with a big band for Federal, a subsidiary of King Records. The flute is thought to be Jerry Dodgion. Here’s Lotus Land:
From the same date, Mambo Mexicano.
For a date with Harry Carney with strings for Norman Granz, here is We’re in Love Again.
For Ed Townsend, he arranged For Your Love.
For a time, he had an agreement with composer/manager Buck Ram, who was the manager of The Platters. He arranged an album for Tony Williams, the lead singer of the group. Here is Rose of Washington Square.
He worked extensively with Buddy Collette and Duke Ellington. He probably ghosted for Ellington as well. One arrangement he definitely arranged was Perdido, which became a classic.
For Plas Johnson, he arranged an album for Capitol Records. Here is:
By 1960, he was under contract to Albert Marx. Dick Bock produced an album with Les McCann singing. Here is a track from that Les McCann Sings album, Since I Fell for You.
Bock owned the Pacific Jazz label, and was anxious to have Wilson record for it. He and Marx made a deal, and Wilson was back in the band business. In September of 1961, Wilson recorded the album “You Better Believe It.”
Here is Blues for Yna Yna, featuring Richard “Groove” Holmes.
And for his album Moment of Truth (discogs), the classic which has been covered many times by others, Viva Tirado.
Wilson’s band was very popular on the west coast for a number of years, and he continued to arrange for acts: Larry Williams, Bobby Darin, Nancy Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Hartman, Julie London, Barbara Dane, Jean-Luc Ponty and Ray Charles were some of his clients through the years. He became a college professor in the 1970’s, and in 1981, was back recording with a big band for Discovery, The Mama Foundation (one of his albums, Suite History, was an oral history) and Mack Avenue.
He died at the age of 96.
Editor’s note: Also, check out the following interviews with Gerald Wilson:
The 1-hour NAMM Oral History interview with Gerald Wilson from 19 March 2004,
National Endowment for the Arts Interview of Gerald Wilson by Molly Murphy from 25 October 2006. On that same page, there’s a 30-minute podcast recording from 2014 in discussion with Roy Haynes and Gerald Wilson, and
the NEA Jazz Masters oral history interview with Gerald Wilson on 15 February 2010.
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