By: Ameyaw Debrah
Award winning international jazz trumpeter and vocalist Abram Wilson, who is in Ghana currently for New Musical Express’ first installment of tributes to some of the greatest musicians of all time, says he is excited about his first time visit to Ghana and his performance slated for Friday June 24 at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Accra.At a press interaction, the trumpeter said he was thrilled about playing with Ghanaian musicians and would be incorporating some Ghanaian rhythmic traditions into his performance on Friday. He shared his experience with jazz music from growing up in New Orleans to living in London for nine years, highlighting the universality of the genre everywhere he had lived or toured. Abram Wilson will be playing music from the legendary Miles Davis, accompanied by Alex Davis on double-bass, Reuben James on Piano, and Frank Kessi on drums.Wilson described Miles Davis as a profound band leader who was able to ensemble musicians into a band and bring music to life like no other. He shared memories of seeing the legend up-close for about 5 seconds at age 13, when Miles Davis came to play in New Orleans. Raised in New Orleans and now based in London, Wilson was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas and began playing trumpet at the age of nine - going on to study at the New Orleans Center For Creative Arts under the tutelage of Clyde Kerr Jr, Ronald Benko, Dr Burt Breaud, and band director, Augustus Walker at O Perry Walker Sr High School.At 17, he earned a music scholarship to Ohio Wesleyan University where he studied classical trumpet with Larry Griffin graduating with a bachelor’s degree in music education. He then attained his Masters degree at the world renowned Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York studying jazz performance and composition with Ralph Alessi, Mike Cain, and Fred Sturm, and classical trumpet with Barbara Butler. After graduating from Eastman, Wilson moved to New York where he started his own band – the Abram Wilson Quintet – as well as regularly performing with the Roy Hargrove Big Band and with rhythm and blues legend, Ruth Brown, appearing on her Good Day for the Blues release in 1999.Arriving in London in 2002, Wilson performed with the Julian Joseph Big Band before meeting the directors of Dune Records and signing to the label in 2003. In 2004, he launched his career as a solo artist with the release of his debut album for Dune, Jazz Warrior to great critical acclaim. He was then commissioned by the Cheltenham Jazz Festival and Birmingham Jazz to create an extended work for premiere at the Festival in 2006. He recorded and released ‘Ride! – Ferris Wheel To The Modern Day Delta’ on Dune in April 2007. He later collaborated with British Gospel legend Nicky Brown and Noted Gospel Historian Viv Broughton on his project called ‘Roll Jordan Roll’. Wilson has received several awards and nominations including: International Songwriting Competition, Best Jazz Composition 2005; and British Jazz Awards, Best New CD 2007