Subscribe to theLast of the Lions: Gerald Wilson
Original Airdate: September 1st, 2008
Gerald Wilson has been leading big bands and recording albums for more than 60 years now, and this week he celebrates his 90th birthday. “Last of the Lions: Gerald Wilson” features two of his most significant outfits: a modernistic 1940s powerhouse that included up-and-coming musicians such as trumpeter Snooky Young and trombonist Melba Liston, and an all-star 1960s West Coast unit that highlighted soloists such as tenor saxophonist Harold Land and guitarist Joe Pass.
Three significant jazz masters will be celebrating milestone birthdays in the next several weeks. On August 25, tenor saxophonist 
In this program we explore the sounds of the mid-20th-century Los Angeles jazz scene with historian Steve Isoardi (editor of the oral history book Central Avenue Sounds). Jam sessions, bebop, r & b, big bands, visits from Hollywood celebrities–as the center of African-American culture in L.A., Central Avenue had it all. We’ll hear the music of artists such as Dexter Gordon, Howard McGhee, Hadda Brooks…
