Abram Wilson

Abram Wilson ( born August 30, 1973 in Fort Smith, Arkansas; † 9 June 2012) was an American jazz musician (trumpet, vocals), composer and music educator.

Life and work

Wilson grew up in New Orleans and came through his guitar -playing father Willie C. Jr. and a musically inclined mother to jazz. As a child, he began playing drums at nine he moved to the trumpet. He attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts; after graduating from high school in 1991 he studied at Ohio Wesleyan University classical trumpet with Larry Griffin and earned a bachelor's degree in music education. He then completed a master's degree at the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Ralph Alessi.

After a brief stay in New York City, where he played in Roy Hargrove's big band and worked as a sideman by Ruth Brown, he moved to London in 2002. Worked there from 2003 as a music teacher in organizing Tomorrow's Warriors; also he was a member of the big band by Julian Joseph. During this time he also played with Gary Crosby, Soweto Kinch, Denys Baptiste, Patrick Clahar, Juliet Roberts and the Jazz Jamaica All Stars. In 2006 he received the first prize of the International Songwriting Competition in Nashville for the title Monk from his debut album Jazz Warrior ( Dune Records) and in 2007 the British Jazz Award in the category Best Album for his ride! Ferris Wheel To The Modern Day Delta. He then worked in the roll Jordan roll project with the British gospel singer Nicky Brown and the gospel historian Viv Broughton, a tribute to the Fisk Jubilee Singers, composed as part of the celebrations to mark the 200-year anniversary of the Slave Trade Act 1807, in which the British Parliament abolished slavery. In 2009 they had the album Life Paintings. Wilson died in June 2012 from the effects of cancer.