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Try this
Below are links to two tracks by Abram Wilson. To listen, click the link
and a player window will launch.
You can also click on the links below to hear clips from Abram's 2006 Jerwood Commission, featured exclusively on this website!
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This new work was co-commissioned with:
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Abram Wilson – The Jerwood 2006 Commission
Abram Wilson - trumpet, vocals
Andy Grappy - tuba
Michael Mwenso - trombone
Patrick Clahar - tenor saxophone, clarinet
Nathaniel Facey - alto saxophone
Giorgio Serci - guitar
Errol Linton - harmonica
Neil Charles - double bass
Shaney Forbes - drums
Ben Burrell - piano
www.dune-music.com
One of the UK's hottest new jazz and urban music stars, Abram’s project for the 2006 Jerwood Commission presented new music at its best.
Entitled "RIDE! - Ferris Wheel to the Modern Day Delta", the music related a cautionary tale, taking the listener on a journey from the blues of the Mississippi Delta to a hip-hop/jazz underworld. It was a musical drama that included spoken word and rap, and three-bands-in-one: DBT (Delta Blues Trio), Londorleans (a New Orleans traditional brass band), and the Abram Wilson Sextet, all led and directed by Abram himself.
Abram commented: "I’ve always believed that the greatest opportunity for any musician is to bring music to people. The level of communication involved enhances mind, body, and soul not just for the listener, but for the musician as well. The commission I was given by Jerwood and Cheltenham has given me that and so much more! This opportunity has not only challenged me as a composer and performer, but has also challenged nine other musicians now called the Delta Blues Project."
The commission will be toured in the UK throughout 2006/7 and will be available on the Dune record label later this year. To hear an exclusive sneak preview of the recording, click on the links on the left.
Comments and reviews from Abram Wilson's Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2006 performance:
"Abram Wilson was outstanding on his Delta Blues Project for the Jerwood commission. A poignant, funny and deeply engaging tale, fusing jazz, blues, rap and funk, sung and played from the heart."
Jazzwise
"Full of wit and aplomb. Wilson's scintillating jousts with the saxophonists were perfect jazz festival fare. Moreover, a little Crescent City showmanship meant that some fine blues singing and rapping was topped off by the band parading off stage in Mardi Gras style."
The Times
"Born in New Orleans, Abram is now resident in London and is a key member of Jazz Jamaica and Soweto Kinch’s band, plus leading his own group. His album, Jazz Warrior, is a wonderful mix of jazz, blues and hip hop and I am very excited by the prospect of an extended work that draws on those three genres of music."
Tony Dudley-Evans
Latest news
Abram has been touring his 2006 Jerwood commission since the beginning of 2007 when the album (on Dune Records) launched. The album topped the US jazz charts and he supported Hugh Masekela at the Barbican in May with this project. He has been nominated for two BBC Jazz Awards this year: the Radio 2 Heart of Jazz Award and Album of the Year.
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