ABRAM WILSON - DOES IT SWING?

It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing with Abram Wilson on trumpet, Wycliffe Gordon on trombone, Alvin Atkinson on drums and Reginal Thomas on piano

Hey Pete, Let's Eat More Meat featuring Abram Wilson on vocals

The Kickstarter campaign for the Abram Wilson Foundation has been amazingly successful, we've raised nearly $15,300 and have got just over a week to go. Woo-hoo and thank YOU!

I'm hoping we can give it a big push over the next few days before the campaign ends on 25th August.  If you know someone who's talked about donating but still hasn't got round to it, now's the time to remind them : ) 

TO DONATE FOLLOW THE LINK: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/abramwilson/philippa-the-abram-wilson-foundation

The other day I was speaking to one of Abram's best friends, best man at our wedding and photographer extraordinaire Ben Amure.  He reminded me of a schools concert Abram did at the Barbican Centre in London a couple of years ago with the incredible Wycliffe Gordon on trombone and two other members of Jazz at Lincoln Center; Alvin Atkinson on drums and Reginald Thomas on piano.  I remember going to the gig and watching the auditorium fill up with hundreds of young kids, all there to learn about jazz music! 

I'd never seen Wycliffe Gordon perform before and it was the first time I'd ever seen anyone play a trombone like THAT.  Alvin Atkinson tore that kit up as did Reginald Thomas on his instrument.  All of them were able to explain the basics of jazz music with so much enthusiasm and clarity that you were left wanting more. 

People often ask about Abram the artist and Abram the educator, but for me there was no difference.  Part of what made Abram such a great musician was his ability to educate his audience and bring them into his world.  By the same token, one of the reasons he was such an inspiring educator is because he was a wonderful performer and talented musician, kids were captivated by his playing and drawn to his energy and love of jazz.  As the Foundation grows my aim is to enable more young people to experience music in this way.

So here are a couple of short videos from the Barbican concert.  The first one is a little introduction from Abram and Wycliffe before they go on to perform the classic 'It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing'.  The second video is a performance by Abram singing another well known jazz tune, 'Hey Pete, Let's Eat More Meat'.  The performance starts at 2mins 43 seconds. 

Till soon!

Love

Jennie x