Phillip Wilson

Phillip Sanford Wilson (September 8, 1941 – March 25, 1992) was an American jazz drummer, a founding member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

Phillip Wilson
Birth namePhillip Sanford Wilson
Born(1941-09-08)September 8, 1941
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
DiedMarch 25, 1992(1992-03-25) (aged 50)
New York City
GenresJazz, free jazz, blues, funk, R&B
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsDrums
Years active1960–1992
Associated actsArt Ensemble of Chicago, Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Biography

Born in St. Louis, Phillip Wilson was a third generation musician. His grandfather, Ira Kimball, was a percussionist playing on the riverboats that traveled down the Mississippi to New Orleans. His recording debut was with Sam Lazar, noted for having one of the first interracial bands in the St. Louis area.[1] After moving to Chicago, he became a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians AACM and performed with the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

He joined up with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1967 at a time when the band membership changed greatly, including an added horn section. He recorded three albums with the group. Wilson's song Love March, written with Gene Dinwiddie, was performed at Woodstock and released in 1970 on the live album from the festival.

Wilson, along with Dinwiddie and fellow former Butterfield Band member Buzz Feiten, formed the jazz-rock band Full Moon in the early 1970s. They recorded a self-titled album which is considered one of the finest early examples of jazz fusion. He was part of the loft jazz scene in 1970s New York, worked as a session musician for Stax Records in Memphis and with Jimi Hendrix at the Cafe Au Go Go and Generation Club in 1968, recorded with The Last Poets, Fontella Bass, Olu Dara, David Murray, Anthony Braxton, and Carla Bley. He worked extensively with Lester Bowie.[2] In 1985, he and Bill Laswell co-produced the album Down by Law under the group name Deadline.

Wilson was pursuing his musical career when he was murdered in New York City on March 25, 1992. As a result of the America's Most Wanted television program, Marvin Slater was convicted for premeditated murder in 1997 and sentenced to 33 1/3 years in state prison.[3]

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Hamiet Bluiett

  • Endangered Species (India Navigation, 1976)

With Lester Bowie

With Anthony Braxton

With Paul Butterfield

With Julius Hemphill

With Sam Lazar

With Frank Lowe

  • Out of Nowhere (Ecstatic Peace, 1993)

With Roscoe Mitchell

With David Murray

References
  1. City of Gabriels: the history of jazz in St. Louis, 1895-1973, Dennis Owsley, Reedy Press, August 8, 2006, ISBN 978-1933370040
  2. "Phillip Wilson". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  3. "Phillip Wilson Remembered", St. Louis Jazz Notes, November 10, 2008
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