Abram Wilson

Originating from Ft. Smith, Arkansas, where his birth took place in 1973, Abram Wilson spent his childhood years in New Orleans. His father Willie C. Jr., a guitarist, and his mother Doris, who had strong musical leanings, first acquainted him with jazz, leading Wilson to begin drumming while still young. He picked up the trumpet at age nine, then joined the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts at thirteen, where Clyde Kerr Jr. served as his mentor and he also collaborated with Lester Wright at O. Perry Walker High School before earning diplomas from both institutions in 1991. After attending Ohio Wesleyan University to study classical trumpet under Larry Griffin and completing a B.A. in Music Education, he next enrolled at the Eastman School of Music in upstate New York, training with Ralph Alessi and receiving his master’s degree. A brief period in New York City followed, during which he performed as part of fellow trumpeter Roy Hargrove’s big band and backed Ruth Brown. Wilson moved to London in 2002, where he worked alongside Gary Crosby, Soweto Kinch, Denys Baptiste, Patrick Clahar, and the Jamaica Jazz All Stars while also directing ensembles of his own. He offered instruction at multiple sites across England and shared leadership of Tomorrow’s Warriors. In 2006 he claimed the jazz prize at the International Songwriting Competition in Nashville, Tennessee. His playing fused modern jazz and blues with clear hip-hop influences and theatrical nuance. Tragically, cancer ended his life in London in June 2012 at the age of thirty-eight.