Steve Wilson (jazz musician)

Biography

As a teenager, Wilson played in rhythm and blues (R&B) and funk bands. After a year accompanying singer Stephanie Mills, he attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond where he majored in music. In 1987 he moved to New York City, where he established himself as a sideman. He performed with the American Jazz Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band, and the Smithsonian Jazz Orchestra. In 1988 he toured Europe with Lionel Hampton. Early in his career he was a member of Out of the Blue, a group which featured young Blue Note Records artists.

Wilson was the subject of a 1996 New York Times profile, entitled "A Sideman's Life". That year he joined the Dave Holland Quintet. From 1998–2001 he was a member of Chick Corea's Origin sextet. He played and recorded on Japanese composer Yoko Kanno's debut album, Song to Fly and part of The Seatbelts' New York Musicians during that period.

In 1997 he formed the Steve Wilson Quartet with pianist Bruce Barth, double bassist Ed Howard, and drummer Adam Cruz. The group performed for over a decade and recorded two albums. He also headed a larger ensemble, Generations, which performed jazz and original compositions, and he has performed in a duo with drummer Lewis Nash.

In May 2007 he performed as a soloist for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip during the Jamestown, Virginia quadricentennial. Wilson is on the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, City College of New York, State University of New York at Purchase, and Columbia University. He has been an artist-in-residence at the University of North Carolina, Hamilton College, Old Dominion University, and with the CITYFOLK arts program in Dayton, Ohio. A septet formed that year in honor of the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records. The group recorded an album in 2008, entitled Mosaic, which was released in 2009 on Blue Note/EMI, and toured the United States in promotion of the album from January until April 2009. The group plays the music of Blue Note Records from various artists, with arrangements by members of the band and Renee Rosnes.

In 2010, Wilson celebrated his 50th birthday at Jazz Standard in New York City. He led six bands in six nights, with jazz musicians that included Karrin Allyson, Bruce Barth, Adam Cruz, Carla Cook, Ed Howard, Lewis Nash, Ugonna Okegwo, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Freddie Hendrix, Christian McBride, Mulgrew Miller, Linda Oh, Geoffrey Keezer, and John Wikan. One special feature was the inclusion of a string section to play music from Bird with Strings. It was composed of Diane Monroe, Nardo Poy, Joyce Hammann, Chern Hwei, and Troy Stuart. The Wall Street Journal wrote a full-length feature article.

In 2017 Wilson released a vinyl lp titled Sit Back, Relax & Unwind which was recorded, mixed and mastered exclusively with analog technology. The band on the album was Ray Angry, Ben Williams and Willie Jones III and it was released by JMI Recordings.

As leader

As sideman