Pianist/composer Jack Wilson: "Easterly Winds"

CiTR -- The Jazz Show

Tonight's Jazz Feature is by a fine pianist who always seemed to have a bit of an undeserved low profile. His name is Jack Wilson and he was born in Chicago on August 3, 1936 and passed away at age 71 on October 5, 2007. He was a favorite of some great singers like Nancy Wilson and Dinah Washington and was sought after for his musicality and fine touch. Wilson performed in Chicago with all the great players from the Windy City then moved for a few years to New York and recorded several good albums for Atlantic Records then out to Los Angeles where he kept busy in the movie and TV studios and played a lot of Jazz too. He got a contract to record for Blue Note Records and did 3 albums for them and tonight's Jazz feature is his best of the 3. "Easterly Winds" displays Wilson's playing and his composing abilities and this band selected by Wilson sounds like a working band even though they were only assembled for this album. The people involved aside from Jack Wilson are Lee Morgan on trumpet, Jackie McLean on alto saxophone, Garnett brown on trombone, Bob Cranshaw on bass and the great Billy Higgins on drums. Wilson wrote 4 of the 6 tunes on the date and does the ballad "A Time for Love" as a trio and brings in a tune by saxophonist Frank Strozier called "Frank's Tune". "Easterly Winds" is an overlooked latter day classic and it tonight's Jazz Feature. Check it out!.