NEA Jazz Master Gerald Wilson
In his first Portland performance since 1949, where he performed at McElroy’s as lead trumpeter in the Basie band, NEA Jazz Master Gerald Wilson will lead the PDX Jazz All-Star Student Big Band and the PDX Jazz Educators Septet. The 94-year-old bandleader, composer, trumpeter, educator and jazz icon, has a career that dates back to his first gig with the Jimmie Lunceford band in 1939. Known for his advanced voicing and pioneering the use of eight-part harmonies, Wilson went on to write for some of the greatest jazz orchestras (Ellington, Basie and Benny Carter, among others) and continues to compose to this day at his home in Los Angeles.
