Gerald Stanley Wilson is an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer/arranger, and educator. He has been based in Los Angeles since the early 1940s. [1]
Wilson was born in Shelby, Mississippi on September 4, 1918. He graduated from Cass Technical High School in Detroit. Wilson joined the Jimmie Lunceford orchestra in 1939, replacing its star trumpeter and arranger Sy Oliver. While with Lunceford, he contributed numbers to the band's book, including "Hi Spook" and "Yard-dog Mazurka," the latter being a big influence on Stan Kenton's recording "Intermission Riff."
During World War II, Gerald also performed for a brief time with the U.S. Navy, with musicians such as Clark Terry, Willie Smith and Jimmy Nottingham, among others. Recently (~2005), many of the members of the band reunited as "The Great Lakes Experience Big Band," with Wilson conducting and Ernie Andrews making a guest appearance at the invitation of Clark Terry.