Gerald Stanley Wilson is an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer/arranger, and educator. He has been based in Los Angeles since the early 1940s. [1] Wilson was born in Mississippi in 1918. He graduated from Cass Technical High School in Detroit. ...show more

Gerald Stanley Wilson is an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer/arranger, and educator. He has been based in Los Angeles since the early 1940s. [1] Wilson was born in Mississippi in 1918. He graduated from Cass Technical High School in Detroit.

Wilson joined the Jimmie Lunceford orchestra in 1939, replacing its star trumpeter and arranger Sy Oliver. While with Lunceford, he contributed numbers to the band's book, including "Hi Spook" and "Yard-dog Mazurka," the latter strikingly similar to a tune later recorded by the Stan Kenton band, "Intermission Riff." During World War II, Gerald also performed for a brief time with the US Navy, with musicians such as Clark Terry, Willie Smith and Jimmy Nottingham, among others. Recently (~2005), many of the members of the band reunited as "The Great Lakes Experience Big Band," with Wilson conducting and Ernie Andrews making a guest appearance at the invitation of Clark Terry. Wilson formed his own band, with some success, in the mid-1940s.

He also played and arranged for Count Basie and later for Duke Ellington. In 1960, Wilson formed a Los Angeles-based band that began a series of superb recordings for the Pacific Jazz label. Musicians in the band at various times included trumpeter Carmell Jones, tenor saxophonists Harold Land and Teddy Edwards, guitarist Joe Pass, vibist Roy Ayers, and drummers Mel Lewis and Mel Lee. A number of Wilson's compositions showed his love of Spanish/Mexican themes, especially "Viva Tirado," which later became a hit for the rock band El Chicano. ...show less