Alex Wilson (born 21 November 1971) is a

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, producer,

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

, and educator.

Biography

Alex was born in the UK and was brought up in Sierra Leone, UK, Austria and Switzerland. In 1993, after gaining a degree in

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

from the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

, he embarked on a professional career as a pianist, performing and recording with

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

Jazz Jamaica Jazz Jamaica is a British jazz/reggae music group formed by musician Gary Crosby in London formed in 1991. History In 1991, inspired by the rhythms of traditional Jamaican music and the largely improvisational nature of jazz, Gary Crosby — on ...

, Sandra Cross,

Adalberto Santiago Adalberto Santiago (born April 23, 1937, in Pozas barrio, Ciales, Puerto Rico) is an internationally known salsa singer. Career Adalberto's relaxed and flawless lead vocals are among the best in the salsa genre of Latin music. His early influ ...

and Jocelyn Brown,

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awar ...

, Hugh Masakela &

Ernest Ranglin Ernest Ranglin (born 19 June 1932) is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels including Studio One (record label), Studio One and I ...

quickly being signed to the Candid label. He won the Rising Star award at the 2001

BBC Jazz Awards The BBC Jazz Awards were set up in 2001 and had the status of one of the premier jazz awards in the United Kingdom (among those presenting the awards were Denis Lawson, Sue Mingus, Humphrey Lyttelton, Ian Carr, Clive James, Mike Gibbs, Julian Jo ...

. To date, he has released eight solo albums in a

Latin Jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, whic ...

and

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: ...

vein; he also composes commissions, produces Latin hip hop, runs a 12-piece salsa band, works as a session keyboard player and works in educational institutions. His commissions include NITRO (a British black theatre company), the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

, the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

, and several library music companies. He also works with in schools in London such as Essex Primary School. Alex Wilson is Special Lecturer in the Department of Music at

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

. In 2011, Alex was invited to be pianist, arranger and musical director for guitar duo

Rodrigo y Gabriela Rodrigo y Gabriela (Rodrigo and Gabriela) are a Mexico, Mexican acoustic guitar duo whose music is influenced by a number of genres including nuevo flamenco, rock music, rock, and Heavy metal music, heavy metal. The duo's recordings consist large ...

on their album '' Area 52'' which was recorded in Havana, Cuba, with C.U.B.A., a 13-piece Cuban orchestra, and special guest musicians (

Anoushka Shankar Anoushka Shankar (born 9 June 1981) is a British-American sitar player, producer, film composer and activist. She was the youngest and first woman to receive a British House of Commons Shield; she has had 7 Grammy Awards nominations and was the ...

on sitar and

Le Trio Joubran Le Trio Joubran ( ar, الثلاثي جبران) is an oud trio playing traditional Palestinian music. The trio consists of the brothers Samir, Wissam, and Adnan Joubran, originally from the city of Nazareth, now dividing their time between ...

on oud). The album was released in January 2012. The project toured the world in 2012, during which Alex continued his role as pianist and musical director. 2013 saw the release of his first album for trio with Davide Mantovani on bass, and

Frank Tontoh Frank Tontoh (born 22 May 1964) is a Ghanaian percussionist. Life and work Born into the world of music, his father being trumpeter Mac Tontoh, Frank began his musical studies at MIT in Los Angeles. Afterwards, he completed a degree in comp ...

and Tristan Banks on drums. The album is called 'Trio' and is released on Alex Wilson Records.

Discography

*''Anglo Cubano'' (

Candid Records Candid Records was a jazz record label first established in New York City. Early Candid Records The CANDID jazz label was founded in New York City in 1960 as a subsidiary of Cadence Records, owned by Archie Bleyer. The jazz writer and civil right ...

, 1999) *''Afro-Saxon'' (

, 2001) *''R&B Latino'' (Candid Records, 2002) *''Aventuras'' ( Alex Wilson Records, 2005) *''Inglaterra'' (Alex Wilson Records, 2007) *''Salsa con Soul'' (Alex Wilson Records, 2008) *''Mali Latino'' (Alex Wilson Records, 2010) *''Alex Wilson presents Salsa Veritas'' (Salsa Veritas GmbH 2011) *''Alex Wilson - Trio'' (Alex Wilson Records, 2013) Selected Discography as sidesman
2012 Diaspora Wilber Calver - pianist/arranger/producer
2012 Area 52 Rodrigo y Gabriela - pianist/arranger
2008 Transition in Tradition Courtney Pine
2008 Afropeans Courtney Pine featured guest
2007 Boulevard de l’Independence Toumani Diabate
2007 I Love Louis Gwyn Jay Allen musical director, arranger, producer
2005 Motor City Roots Jazz Jamaica pianist / arranger
2005 Tears of Joy Antonio Forcione
2004 Massive Jazz Jamaica pianist / arranger
2001 Victory’s Happy Songbook Cleveland Watkiss
1999 Just a Dream Sandra Cross
1998 Dreams Come True Sandra Cross
1997 Migrations Gary Crosby’s Nu Troop

References

External links

Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Alex British jazz pianists 1971 births Living people Alumni of the University of York 21st-century pianists