Click on the link here for Audio Player – NPR: Piano Jazz w/Marian McPartland – featuring Gerald Wilson – June 19, 2006 – NPR
It was very sad news, earlier this week, hearing of the passing of one of the true giants of the Jazz World. Gerald Wilson was a force of nature – a true inspiration and a tidal wave of innovation.
His influence stretches back for decades and those whose lives he touched are countless. As an arranger he had few peers, and his gift for molding and crafting a piece of music and coaxing band members into achieving new heights is legendary.
Tomorrow, during our Downbeat segment I will be running two concerts: One featuring Gerald Wilson and his orchestra in a 1950 concert from San Francisco. The other will be a tribute to the passing of another Jazz great this week; Joe Sample and a concert from Seattle in 1973 with The Jazz Crusaders. Sunday will be two Downbeat concerts.
But tonight it’s an interview with the late Marian McPartland for her NPR series Piano Jazz. Done on June 19, 2006.
If you’re just getting familiar with the music of Gerald Wilson and want a bit more background, this is a great interview. McPartland, a seasoned veteran herself, knows Wilson very well and asks all the right questions and it’s a relaxed get together between two good friends.
2014 continues to be a sobering year for Music. Although Gerald Wilson has had a great long run, and was active right up to the end, it’s still very sad he’s not with us. Fortunately for everyone he has left a remarkable legacy which will continue for years and generations to come.
RIP: Gerald Wilson.
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