Gerald Wilson
Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) 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. He arranged music for Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, Julie London, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Carter, Lionel Hampton, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, and Nancy Wilson. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Shelby (city in Mississippi, United States), Died September 8, 2014 (Los Angeles (seat of Los Angeles County, and largest city in California, United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1941 - 1957
Roles Represented in DAHR: trumpet, arranger, composer, director, leader, songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 47 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | D8VB-4148 | 10-in. | 12/29/1948 | Guarachi guaro | Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and male vocal ensemble | arranger | |
| Victor | D9VB-1821 | 10-in. | 7/13/1949 | St. Louis baby | Count Basie Orchestra | Vocal quintet, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
| Excelsior | GW-122 | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Moon rise | Gerald Wilson Orchestra ; Pat Kay | arranger | ||
| Excelsior | GW-123 | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Top of the hill | Gerald Wilson Orchestra ; Dick Gray | arranger | ||
| Excelsior | GW-124 | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Synthetic Joe | Gerald Wilson Orchestra | arranger, composer | ||
| Excelsior | GW-126 | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Just one of those things | Gerald Wilson Orchestra ; Otis René | arranger | ||
| Excelsior | GW-128 | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Just give me a man | Gerald Wilson Orchestra ; Bette Roche | arranger | ||
| Excelsior | OR-149-A | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Yenta | Gerald Wilson Orchestra ; Thrasher Sisters | arranger | ||
| Excelsior | OR-149-B | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Come Sunday | Gerald Wilson Orchestra | arranger | ||
| Exclusive | OR-159-A | 10-in. | 12/31/1951 | Groovin' high | Artists vary | arranger, leader | ||
| Excelsior | OR-159-B | 10-in. | 12/31/1951 | I've got a right to sing the blues | Artists vary | arranger, leader | ||
| Mercury | 392 | 10-in. | 4/6/1946 | Oo-wee walkie talkie | Gerald Wilson Orchestra ; Dinah Washington | instrumentalist, trumpet, leader | ||
| Excelsior | OR-509-B | 10-in. | 12/31/1951 | Dissonance in blues | Red Callender ; Gerald Wilson | director, composer | ||
| Excelsior | 510-B | 10-in. | 12/31/1951 | Va-ance | Gerald Wilson Orchestra | songwriter | ||
| Excelsior | OR-539-A | 10-in. | 12/31/1951 | S'mada | D. Bryant ; Buddy Collette ; C. Dunn ; V. Glasby ; R. Huerta ; R. Kelly ; L. McCray ; K. Medlock ; J. Randolph ; J. Robinson ; Les Robinson ; R. Ross ; U. Slater ; C. Thompson ; Gerald Wilson | arranger, composer, instrumentalist, trumpet, director | ||
| Excelsior | OR-539-B | 10-in. | 12/31/1951 | The black rose | D. Bryant ; Buddy Collette ; C. Dunn ; V. Glasby ; R. Huerta ; R. Kelly ; L. McCray ; K. Medlock ; J. Randolph ; J. Robinson ; Les Robinson ; R. Ross ; U. Slater ; C. Thompson ; Gerald Wilson | director, arranger, composer, instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Atlantic | 2372 | 10-in. | 4/16/1957 | I promise you | Robin Robinson | director | ||
| Atlantic | 2373 | 10-in. | 4/16/1957 | Gypsy in my soul | Robin Robinson ; Gerald Wilson | director | ||
| Mercury | 4713 | 10-in. | 12/19/1951 | Oopy-doo | Johnny Otis Band | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Mercury | 4717 | 10-in. | 12/26/1951 | One nighter blues | Johnny Otis Band | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Mercury | 4718 | 10-in. | 12/26/1951 | Goomp blues | Johnny Otis Band | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Mercury | 4719 | 10-in. | 12/26/1951 | Stardust | Johnny Otis Band | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 68874 | 10-in. | 3/26/1941 | Blue prelude-2 | Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 68875 | 10-in. | 3/26/1941 | I had a proposition-1 | Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 68876 | 10-in. | 3/26/1941 | Twenty-four robbers-2 | Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Wilson, Gerald," accessed January 3, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/211148.
Wilson, Gerald. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 3, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/211148.
"Wilson, Gerald." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 3 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Gerald Wilson
Discogs: Gerald Wilson
Allmusic: Gerald Wilson
Grove: Gerald Wilson
IMDb: Gerald Wilson
Britannica: Gerald Wilson
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Wilson, Gerald, 1918-2014 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n83163533
Wikidata: Gerald Wilson - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q201500
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/42027082
MusicBrainz: Gerald Wilson - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/f3a33bb9-7655-4f6b-ad9e-f15c3f95caf2
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1759062 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1759062
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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