Gerald Wilson 18 piece Big Band Orchestra - past festival performer

Wilson has received a number of Grammy nominations throughout his career. He is an NEA recipient as a Jazz Master and his works are ensconced in the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. He was honored at the Kennedy Center in March 2007, along with a number his peers, as a "Living Legend of Jazz".He also played and arranged for Count Basie and later for Duke Ellington. In addition to leading his band and writing arrangements for others (including Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles,Julie London, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Carter, Lionel Hampton, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, and Nancy Wilson), Wilson has been a member of the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles, for many years, recently winning (late in his ninth decade!) a "teacher of the year" award. He also served on the faculty at California State University, Northridge in the 1970s where he taught Jazz History to wide acclaim among the student body. He currently teaches Jazz History classes with fellow Jazz player, Kenny Burrell at UCLA.
In February 2006, Wynton Marsalis and The Lincoln Jazz Center Orchestra performed his music with Mr. Wilson conducting.