Detroit (Gerald Wilson album)

Detroit
Studio album by Gerald Wilson Orchestra
Released	September 28, 2009
Recorded	2009; New York and Los Angeles
Genre	Jazz
Length	62:47
Label	Mack Avenue ; MAC 1049
Producer	Al Pryor
Gerald Wilson chronology

Last updated March 24, 2019

Detroit is an album by the Gerald Wilson Orchestra recorded in 2009 and released on the Mack Avenue label.^[1]

Gerald Stanley Wilson was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer/arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a band leader, Wilson wrote arrangements for Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, Julie London, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Carter, Lionel Hampton, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, and Nancy Wilson.

Mack Avenue Records is an independent record label in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
All About Jazz	^[3]

AllMusic rated the album with 4 stars; in his review, Michael G. Nastos noted: "A quite spirited and energetic music is heard here from the 90-year-old Wilson, whose charm and wit would rival anyone many decades his junior. It's a swinging affair molded in the traditional big-band visage of Count Basie, Ernie Wilkins, or early Quincy Jones, with Wilson's deft touch for embellishing the blues".^[2] In JazzTimes Owen Cordle wrote: "Wilson’s chord progressions, chord voicings and rhythmic figures for the ensemble are strong characteristics of his writing. He also has a flair for atmospheric themes. One could quibble about the combo-esque strings of solos and the scarcity of ensemble interludes. Nevertheless, his writing style continues to serve him well".^[4] On All About Jazz Robert J. Robbins noted: "Gerald Wilson's six-movement "Detroit Suite" demonstrates that after nearly seven decades in the music business, the nonagenarian composer and arranger still has a great deal to offer in terms of musical creativity".^[3]

AllMusic is an online music database. It catalogs more than 3 million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musical artists and bands. It launched in 1991, predating the World Wide Web.

William James "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer.

Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. was an American jazz saxophonist, conductor and arranger who spent several years with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie. He was musical director for albums by Cannonball Adderley, Dinah Washington, Oscar Peterson, and Buddy Rich.

Track listing

All compositions by Gerald Wilson.

"Blues on Belle Isle" - 5:30
"Cass Tech" - 8:47
"Detroit" - 6:40
"Miss Gretchen" - 7:07
"Before Motown" - 7:12
"The Detroit River" - 8:47
"Everywhere" - 12:32
"Aram" - 6:12

Personnel

Gerald Wilson - arranger, conductor
Los Angeles Band (tracks 1-6):
- Jeff Kaye, Rick Baptist, Winston Bird, Ron Barrows - trumpet
- Eric Jorgensen, Les Benedict, Mike Wimberly, Shaunte Palmer - trombone
- Carl Randall, Kamasi Washington, Jackie Kelso, Louis Van Taylor, Randall Willis, Terry Laudry - reeds
- Brian O' Rourke - piano
- Trey Henry - bass
- Mell Lee - drums
- Special guests: Sean Jones - trumpet, flugelhorn and Anthony Wilson - guitar
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. As on all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips (embouchure) cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate. Nearly all trombones have a telescoping slide mechanism that varies the length of the instrument to change the pitch. Many modern trombone models also use a valve attachment to lower the pitch of the instrument. Variants such as the valve trombone and superbone have three valves similar to those on the trumpet.
Kamasi Washington is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, producer, and bandleader. Washington is known mainly for playing tenor saxophone.
John Joseph Kelson Jr., better known by his stage name Jackie Kelso, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, and clarinetist.
New York Band (tracks 7 & 8):
- Jon Faddis, Frank Greene, Sean Jones, Jimmy Owens, Terrell Stafford - trumpet
- Dennis Wilson, Luis Bonilla, Jay Ashby, Douglas Purviance - trombone
- Steve Wilson, Antonio Hart, Ron Blake, Kamasi Washington, Ronnie Cuber - reeds
- Renee Rosnes - piano
- Peter Washington - bass
- Anthony Wilson - guitar
- Lewis Nash - drums
- Special guest: Hubert Laws - flute
Jon Faddis is an American jazz trumpet player, conductor, composer, and educator, renowned for both his playing and for his expertise in the field of music education. Upon his first appearance on the scene, he became known for his ability to closely mirror the sound of trumpet icon Dizzy Gillespie, who was his mentor along with pianist Stan Kenton and trumpeter Bill Catalano.
Jimmy Owens is a jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, lecturer, and educator. He has played with Lionel Hampton, Charles Mingus, Hank Crawford, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Herbie Mann, among many others. Since 1969, he has led his own group, Jimmy Owens Plus.
Luis Bonilla is an American, Grammy Award-winning jazz trombonist of Costa Rican descent. He is a performer, producer, composer, and music educator who has performed and recorded internationally.

In music, an arrangement is a musical reconceptualization of a previously composed work. It may differ from the original work by means of reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or development of the formal structure. Arranging differs from orchestration in that the latter process is limited to the assignment of notes to instruments for performance by an orchestra, concert band, or other musical ensemble. Arranging "involves adding compositional techniques, such as new thematic material for introductions, transitions, or modulations, and endings.. .. Arranging is the art of giving an existing melody musical variety".

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties of the conductor are to interpret the score in a way which reflects the specific indications in that score, set the tempo, ensure correct entries by ensemble members, and "shape" the phrasing where appropriate. Conductors communicate with their musicians primarily through hand gestures, usually with the aid of a baton, and may use other gestures or signals such as eye contact. A conductor usually supplements their direction with verbal instructions to their musicians in rehearsal.

A trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group contains the instruments with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpet-like instruments have historically been used as signaling devices in battle or hunting, with examples dating back to at least 1500 BC; they began to be used as musical instruments only in the late 14th or early 15th century. Trumpets are used in art music styles, for instance in orchestras, concert bands, and jazz ensembles, as well as in popular music. They are played by blowing air through nearly-closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound that starts a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the instrument. Since the late 15th century they have primarily been constructed of brass tubing, usually bent twice into a rounded rectangular shape.

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References

↑ Mack Avenue catalog, accessed August 26, 2016
1 2 Nastos, Michael G.. Detroit – Review at AllMusic . Retrieved August 26, 2016.
1 2 Robbins, R. J. All About Jazz Review, November 28, 2009
↑ Cordle, O. JazzTimes review November 2009

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[1] Mack Avenue catalog, accessed August 26, 2016

[Allmusic-2] 1 2 Nastos, Michael G.. Detroit – Review at AllMusic . Retrieved August 26, 2016.

[AAJ-3] 1 2 Robbins, R. J. All About Jazz Review, November 28, 2009

[4] Cordle, O. JazzTimes review November 2009