Steve Wilson is an American jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 saxophonist

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

 and flautist

Flautist

A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...

.

Biography

As a teenager, he played in various rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 and funk bands. After a year accompanying singer Stephanie Mills

Stephanie Mills

Stephanie Dorthea Mills is an American R&B and soul singer, and a former Broadway star.-Career:Mills began her career appearing in her first play at the age of nine. Two years later, Mills won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater a record six times...

, he attended Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University is a public university located in Richmond, Virginia. It comprises two campuses in the Downtown Richmond area, the product of a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968...

 in Richmond

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

, where he majored in music. In 1987 he moved to New York, where he established himself as a sideman

Sideman

A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...

. He performed with the American Jazz Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band

Mingus Big Band

The Mingus Big Band is an ensemble, based in New York City, that specializes in the compositions of the late Charles Mingus. It is managed by his widow, Sue Mingus and represented by Tree Lawn Artists, Inc.. In addition to its weekly Monday night appearance at the Jazz Standard in New York City,...

, and the Smithsonian Jazz Orchestra, among others. In 1988 he toured Europe with Lionel Hampton

Lionel Hampton

Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...

. Early in his career he was a member of Out of the Blue

Out of the Blue (band)

Out of the Blue was an American jazz ensemble founded by Blue Note Records in the 1980s as a showcase for the label's younger musicians. They formed in 1984, releasing four albums and touring extensively over the next five years. Their most commercially successful album was 1986's Live at Mt....

, a group which featured young Blue Note artists.

Wilson was the subject of a 1996 New York Times profile, "A Sideman's Life". That year he joined the Dave Holland Quintet

Dave Holland

Dave Holland is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for 40 years....

. From 1998-2001 he was a member of Chick Corea's

Chick Corea

Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...

 Origin sextet. He was a sideman in Song to fly

Song to fly

Song to fly is the debut studio album by Yoko Kanno. It was released January 1, 1998. All music was written by Yoko Kanno.-Track listing:-Performers:Keyboard, Piano: Yoko Kanno...

 and part of The Seatbelt's New York Musicians

The Seatbelts

was a Japanese blues/jazz band led by composer and instrumentalist Yoko Kanno.-Band history:The name of the band, according to the fictional description given in the anime series Cowboy Bebop, derives from how the performers wear seatbelts to be safe while they play hardcore jam sessions.The band...

 at that period with Japanese composer Yoko Kanno

Yoko Kanno

is a composer, arranger and musician best known for her work on the soundtracks for many games, anime films, TV series, live-action movies, and advertisements...

.

In 1997 he formed the Steve Wilson Quartet with pianist

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 Bruce Barth, bassist

Double bass

The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...

 Ed Howard and drum

Drum

The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

mer Adam Cruz

Adam Cruz

Adam Cruz is an American jazz drummer . He is best known for his work with pianist Danilo Perez, saxophonist Steve Wilson, David Sanchez, and pianist Edward Simon...

. The group has performed together for over a decade and produced two CDs. He also heads a larger ensemble, Generations, which performs jazz classic and original compositions, and he performs in duo with drummer Lewis Nash

Lewis Nash

Lewis Nash is an American jazz drummer. According to Modern Drummer magazine, Nash has one of the longest discographies in jazz. and has played on over 400 records by musicians, earning him the honor of being named Jazz's Most Valuable Player by the magazine in it's May, 2009 issue...

.

In May 2007 he performed as a soloist for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip during the Jamestown, Virginia quadricentennial

Jamestown 2007

Jamestown 2007 is the name of the organization planning the events commemorating the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, the first permanent English-speaking settlement in what is now the United States of America...

. Wilson is on the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music

Manhattan School of Music

The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...

, State University of New York at Purchase

State University of New York at Purchase

Purchase College, State University of New York, is a public four-year college located in Purchase, New York, United States. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York system...

, and Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

. He has been an artist-in-residence at the University of North Carolina

University of North Carolina

Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...

, Hamilton College, Old Dominion University

Old Dominion University

Old Dominion University is a state university located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...

, and with the CITYFOLK arts program in Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

.

In 2008, Wilson became part of The Blue Note 7

The Blue Note 7

The Blue Note 7 are a jazz septet formed in 2008 in honor of the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records. The group consists of Peter Bernstein , Bill Charlap , Ravi Coltrane , Lewis Nash , Nicholas Payton , Peter Washington , and Steve Wilson .The group recorded an album in 2008, entitled Mosaic,...

, a septet

Septet

A septet is a formation containing exactly seven members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, but can be applied to any situation where seven similar or related objects are considered a single unit, such as a seven-line stanza of poetry....

 formed that year in honor of the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records

Blue Note Records

Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...

. The group recorded an album in 2008, entitled Mosaic

Mosaic: A Celebration of Blue Note Records

Mosaic: A Celebration of Blue Note Records is the 2009 debut album by The Blue Note 7.-Overview:The Blue Note 7 was formed in 2008 in honor of the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records...

, which was released in 2009 on Blue Note Records

Blue Note Records

Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...

/EMI

EMI

The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

, and toured the United States in promotion of the album from January until April 2009. The group plays the music of Blue Note Records

Blue Note Records

Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...

 from various artists, with arrangements by members of the band and Renee Rosnes

Renee Rosnes

Irene Louise Rosnes , professionally known as Renee Rosnes , is a pianist, composer and arranger in the hard bop and post-bop mediums.-Biography:...

.

In 2010, Wilson celebrated his 50th birthday at Jazz Standard in NYC. He led 6 bands in 6 nights. A retrospective of his career, he invited an all-star cast to perform throughout the week: Karrin Allyson, Carla Cook, Bruce Barth, Ed Howard, Adam Cruz, Lewis Nash, Ugonna Okegwo, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Freddie Hendrix, Christian McBride

Christian McBride

Christian McBride is an American jazz bassist. His father, Lee Smith, and his great uncle, Howard Cooper, are well known Philadelphia bassists who served as McBride's early mentors...

, Mulgrew Miller, Geoffrey Keezer, Linda Oh, John Wikan. One of the highlights of the week featured music from "Bird with Strings" with a string section with Diane Monroe, Nardo Poy, Joyce Hammann, Chern Hwei, and Troy Stuart. The Wall Street Journal wrote a full length feature article, written by Larry Blumenfeld, that declared "The Sideman Becoms the Star," “Mr. Wilson is essential to this city's jazz landscape.”

As leader

• New York Summit (Criss Cross, 1991) with Mulgrew Miller, James Genus
• Step Lively (Criss Cross, 1993) with Cyrus Chestnut
  Cyrus Chestnut
  Cyrus Chestnut is an American jazz pianist, songwriter, and producer. In 2006, Josh Tyrangiel, music critic for Time Magazine, wrote: "What makes Chestnut the best jazz pianist of his generation is a willingness to abandon notes and play space." Chestnut enjoys mixing styles and resists being...
  
  , Freddie Bryant, Dennis Irwin
• Generations (Stretch, 1998) with Mulgrew Miller, Ray Drummond
• Passages (Stretch, 1999) with Nicolas Payton, Bruce Barth, Ed Howard, Adam Cruz
• Soulful Song (MAXJAZZ, 2003) with Rene Marie, Carla Cook, Bruce Barth, Ed Howard, Adam Cruz
• Home (We Always Swing, 2010) Co-Leader with Bruce Barth, Recorded Live in Columbia, MO

As sideman

• Carl Allen/Rodney Whitaker, Get Ready (Mack Avenue)
• Karrin Allyson, In Blue (Concord)
• Karrin Allyson, Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane (Concord)
• DMP Big Band, Tribute to Duke Ellington (DMP)
• DMP Big Band, Carved in Stone (DMP)
• Rob Bargad, Better Times(Criss Cross)
• Bruce Barth, Morning Call (Enja)
• Bruce Barth, In Focus (Enja)
• Bruce Barth, Hope Springs Eternal (Double Time)
• Bruce Barth, East and West (MAXJAZZ)
• Noah Baerman, Soul Force (Lemel)
• Louie Bellson, Live from NYC (Telarc)
• David Berkman, Handmade (Palmetto)
• David Berkman, Communication Theory (Palmetto)
• Chris Berger, Conversations (KSJazz)
• Paul Bollenback, Soul Grooves (Challenge Records)
• Jimmy Bosch, Singing Trombone (Ryko)
• Don Braden, After Dark (Criss Cross)
• Michael Brecker, Wide Angles (Verve)
• Donald Brown, Car Tunes (Muse)
• Donald Brown, Send One Our Love (Muse)
• Bill Bruford, Earthworks Underground Orchestra (Summerfold)
• Freddie Bryant, Take your Dance into Battle (Jazz City/Spirit)
• Freddie Bryant, Boogaloo Brasiliero, Fresh Sound
• Freddie Bryant, Kaleidoscope, Fresh Sound
• Laverne Butler, A Foolish Thing To Do,MaxJazz
• Charlie Byrd, Louis, Concord
• Don Byron, Bug Music, Nonesuch
• Ron Carter, Great Big Band, EMI
• Billy Childs, The Child Within, Shanachie/Cachet
• Avishai Cohen, Adama, Stretch Records
• Chick Corea, Corea.Concerto, Sony/Stretch (Grammy Winner)
• Chick Corea, Rendezvous in New York, Stretch Records
• Chick Corea, Elektric Band: To The Stars, Stretch Records
• Chick Corea & Origin, Live at the Blue Note, Stretch Records
• Chick Corea & Origin, A Week at the Blue Note, Stretch Records
• Chick Corea & Origin, Change, Stretch Records
• Chick Corea & Origin, Originations, Stretch Records
• Roz Corral, Telling Tales, Blu Jazz
• Steve Davis, Portrait in Sound, Stretch Records
• Dena DeRose, Introducing Dena DeRose, Amosaya
• Dena DeRose, Another World, Sharp Nine
• Kenny Drew, Jr., Follow the Spirit, Sirocco
• George Duke, Duke, BPM
• Billy Drummond, Native Colors, Criss Cross
• Greg Gisbert, On Second Thought, Criss Cross
• Darrell Grant, Truth and Reconciliation, Origin Records
• Edsel Gomez, Cubist Music, Zoho Music
• Kevin Bruce Harris, Folk Songs/Folk Tales, Enja
• Stefon Harris, A Cloud of Red Dust, Blue Note
• Kevin Hays, El Matador, Jazz City
• David Hazeltine, How It Is, Criss Cross
• Joe Henderson, Big Band, Verve (Grammy Winner)
• Dave Holland
  Dave Holland
  Dave Holland is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for 40 years....
  
  , Points of View
  Points of View (album)
  -Track listing:# "The Balance" - 9:24# "Mister B." - 11:01# "Bedouin Trail" - 8:55# "Metamorphose" - 8:29# "Ario" - 10:24# "Herbaceous" - 9:47# "The Benevolet One" - 7:05# "Serenade" - 6:49...
  
  , ECM (Grammy Winner)
• Chie Imaizumi, A Time of New Beginnings, Capri Records
• Ingrid Jensen & Project O, Now As Then, Jig Records
• Ingrid Jensen, Vernal Fields, Enja
• Kelley Johnson, Make Someone Happy, Sapphire
• Ronnie Jordan, A Brighter Day, Blue Note/Angel
• Yoko Kanno, Song To Fly, Victor Entertainment
• Geoffrey Keezer, Falling Up, MAXJAZZ
• Jonny King, Meltdown, Enja
• Steve Kroon, El Mas Alla (Beyond, Kroonatune
• Mike LeDonne, Tribute to Milt Jackson, Double-Time
• Victor Lewis, 3 Way Conversation, Red Records
• Dave Liebman, Classique, Owl
• Dave Liebman/
• Gunnar Mossblad The Seasons Reflected Soul Note/CAM
• Didier Lockwood Storyboard Dreyfus
• Kevin Mahogany Songs & Moments Enja
• Pete Malinverni Make A Joyful Noise ArtistShare
• Christian McBride Kind of Brown Mack Avenue
• Mulgrew Miller The Sequel MAXJAZZ
• Allison Miller 5AM Stroll * Foxhaven
• Bill Mobley New Light Space Time
• Stephanie Mills Tantalizingly Hot 20th Century Fox
• Gunnar Mossblad Convergence Mossblad Music
• Gunnar Mossblad& The Manhattan Sax Ensemble, The Dogwalk,GPC Recordings
• Shunzo Ohno Maya Three Blind Mice
• Junko Onishi Junko Onishi Nippon Crown
• Leon Parker Belief Sony
• Leon Parker Awakening Sony
• Clarence Penn Saomaye Verve Japan
• Ken Peplowski A Good Reed Concord
• Ralph Peterson Art of Blakey Blue Note
• Ralph Peterson Reclamation Project Evidence
• Ralph Peterson The Fo'tet Plays Monk Evidence
• Ralph Peterson V Blue Note
• Ralph Peterson Volition Blue Note
• Leslie Pintchik Quartets Ambient Records
• Mika Pohjola Northern Sunrise Blue Music Group
• Dianne Reeves, The Calling: A Tribute to Sarah Vaughn, Blue Note (Grammy Winner)

Dianne Reeves Christmas Time Is Here Blue Note
Renee Rosnes For The Moment Blue Note
Michele Rosewoman Qunitessence/Harvest Enja
Michele Rosewoman Quintessence / Guardians of the Light Enja
Maria Schneider * Sky Blue Artist Share
Loren Schoenberg Manhattan Work Song Jazz Heritage
Loren Schoenberg Out of this World TCB Music
David Schumacher Another Life Amosaya
Jae Sinnett The Sinnett Hearings J-Net Records
Jae Sinnett House and Sinnett Positive Music
Neal Smith Live at Smalls Smalls Live
Smithsonian Jazz Orchestra Big Band Treasure-Live Smithsonian
Terell Stafford New Beginnings MAXJAZZ
Terell Stafford Time to Let Go Candid
Bill Stewart Telepathy Blue Note
Joan Stiles Hurly-Burly Oo-Bla-Dee
Sunny Sumter Getting to Know You J. Jordan Music
Tom Varner Swimming Omnitone Records
Melissa Walker Invitation to Love Enja
Michael Weiss Soul Journey Sintra Records
Scott Wendholt From Now On Criss Cross
Buster Williams Joined at the Hip TCB
James Williams Jazz Dialogues, Vol. 1, Will Power Finas Music
James Williams Jazz Dialogues, Vol. 4, Music For A While Finas Music
James Williams & ICU Truth, Justice & the Blues Evidence
James Williams & ICU We've Got What You Need Evidence
James Williams Quintet Live at Mills Hall La Dome
Gerald Wilson Monterey Moods Mack Avenue
Gerald Wilson In My Time Mack Avenue
Michael Wolff Joe’s Strut Wrong Records
Anthony Wonsey Exodus Alfa Jazz
Yosuke Yamashita Field of Grooves Verve

External links

• Jazz Corner - Steve Wilson
• Steve Wilson on Blue Music Group
• Jazz News - Steve Wilson: Band Leader, Sideman, Historian, Educator, "Jazz Master"