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GenreJazz
Rank−
Albums2
Songs26
AboutAndrienne Wilson was born in Berkeley, California. Her career started at the age of four as her vaudevillian grandmother taught her how to read music, play piano, and sing the vaudeville act. Only a lifetime in music would prepare for the ability to span so many disciplines - from the theater, to jazz, to acting, to improv - and compositions, performances and/or recordings with: Diane Schuur, Norman Hedman's TROPIQUE, George Cables, Mulgrew Miller, Stephen Scott, James Weidman, John Hicks, Bobby Watson, Arthur Blythe, Talib Kibwe, Von Freeman, Patience Higgins, Chico Freeman, Tommy Campbell, Victor Jones, Richie Goods, Alex Blake, Calvin Jones, Mario Rodriguez, trumpet icon Stanton Davis Jr.
Andrienne started playing flute at nine, on the win of a bet with her father. Ms. Wilson's dad didn't want to hear her learn an instrument, so he imposed what he thought was an unattainable goal. He informed her that if she could stand in front of him within three months and play "The Swinging Shepard's Blues," he would buy the flute. He thought that was the end of it; it turned out to be only the beginning. Three months, to the day, Andrienne proudly stood in front of her father and swung that song.
At the age of twelve, Andrienne, started studying with the head of the woodwind department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Ms. Wilson's college education included tours with big bands, and the Soundsation '77 jazz choir, adding a performance tour of Europe, and the Montreux Jazz Festival to the resume. Concerts singing behind Carmen McCrea and Joe Williams, and featured performances with Tom Scott, and Rufus Reid, became regular events.
Andrienne started singing professionally at eighteen, and spent years in the jazz scenes in San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Reno and Seattle. The original song list grew, and the result was Ms. Wilson's first CD, "The Buoyancy Factor," with 11 of her compositions, displaying an enormous range of jazz, and an unmatched singing style and flute sound. The demand for her compositions increased, and in 1992 Andrienne became the musical director of the Seattle-based MOAZZ Modern Jazz Dance Ensemble. The company specializes in unusual combinations of simultaneous music and dance development. The experimental nature of the company lead to her growth as an improviser and poet, as many of the performances included extemporaneous music and/or poetry to movement. Ms. Wilson's 45 minute Jazz Choreo-Suite "In A Flat Spin" was produced to rave reviews, and noted for it's inclusion of dynamic poetry, Hip/Hop, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and free-form Avant Garde Jazz within the framework of one performance piece showcasing the emotional, and rather under-bellied, side of women in the prison system. Currently Ms. Wilson is on the board of directors for the company, and is active in it's artistic growth.
Ms. Wilson also teaches Jazz Ensembles, Arranging, Voice and Flute at Seattle Central Community College, where she has developed a ground-breaking curriculum to coordinate vocal and instrumental jazz. Her book "The Art Of Chartmaking" is in the testing stages at the college and should be ready for publication this fall.
As a featured performer Ms. Wilson has burst onto the international scene in a very big way. The recent release "Healing Hands", with Norman Hedman's TROPIQUE, involves her songwriting, arranging, flute playing and puts her in front of one of the hottest Latin Jazz horn bands going today.
Andrienne has just recently signed with Arabesque Recordings and is currently touring to support the release of her first internationally marketed CD, "She's Dangerous". This recording is not only the most exciting project to date for Ms. Wilson, but one of the most dynamic records in a very long time. No less than an all-star cast has been assembled to achieve critical mass for this music, and the musicians involved are claiming this to be some of the best work they have done. Norman Hedman, Tommy Campbell, Alex Blake, and special guests George Cables, Bobby Watson and Stanton Davis, have all come forward after the recording of this project to say - look out for this lady and her music. "She's Dangerous" should put her firmly in the vanguard of the few musicians who are writing and performing the new standards. With performances that actually give the listener a warm, evocative, and sensuous voice to listen to, Ms. Wilson also remembers the vocal stylings, and criterion, of the greats of old. The future direction of jazz, and creativity are clear - and the great music to accomplish that is right here. According to Ms. Wilson, "The new music should never be a shadow of the past, but a thoughtful evolution."
Andrienne started playing flute at nine, on the win of a bet with her father. Ms. Wilson's dad didn't want to hear her learn an instrument, so he imposed what he thought was an unattainable goal. He informed her that if she could stand in front of him within three months and play "The Swinging Shepard's Blues," he would buy the flute. He thought that was the end of it; it turned out to be only the beginning. Three months, to the day, Andrienne proudly stood in front of her father and swung that song.
At the age of twelve, Andrienne, started studying with the head of the woodwind department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Ms. Wilson's college education included tours with big bands, and the Soundsation '77 jazz choir, adding a performance tour of Europe, and the Montreux Jazz Festival to the resume. Concerts singing behind Carmen McCrea and Joe Williams, and featured performances with Tom Scott, and Rufus Reid, became regular events.
Andrienne started singing professionally at eighteen, and spent years in the jazz scenes in San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Reno and Seattle. The original song list grew, and the result was Ms. Wilson's first CD, "The Buoyancy Factor," with 11 of her compositions, displaying an enormous range of jazz, and an unmatched singing style and flute sound. The demand for her compositions increased, and in 1992 Andrienne became the musical director of the Seattle-based MOAZZ Modern Jazz Dance Ensemble. The company specializes in unusual combinations of simultaneous music and dance development. The experimental nature of the company lead to her growth as an improviser and poet, as many of the performances included extemporaneous music and/or poetry to movement. Ms. Wilson's 45 minute Jazz Choreo-Suite "In A Flat Spin" was produced to rave reviews, and noted for it's inclusion of dynamic poetry, Hip/Hop, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and free-form Avant Garde Jazz within the framework of one performance piece showcasing the emotional, and rather under-bellied, side of women in the prison system. Currently Ms. Wilson is on the board of directors for the company, and is active in it's artistic growth.
Ms. Wilson also teaches Jazz Ensembles, Arranging, Voice and Flute at Seattle Central Community College, where she has developed a ground-breaking curriculum to coordinate vocal and instrumental jazz. Her book "The Art Of Chartmaking" is in the testing stages at the college and should be ready for publication this fall.
As a featured performer Ms. Wilson has burst onto the international scene in a very big way. The recent release "Healing Hands", with Norman Hedman's TROPIQUE, involves her songwriting, arranging, flute playing and puts her in front of one of the hottest Latin Jazz horn bands going today.
Andrienne has just recently signed with Arabesque Recordings and is currently touring to support the release of her first internationally marketed CD, "She's Dangerous". This recording is not only the most exciting project to date for Ms. Wilson, but one of the most dynamic records in a very long time. No less than an all-star cast has been assembled to achieve critical mass for this music, and the musicians involved are claiming this to be some of the best work they have done. Norman Hedman, Tommy Campbell, Alex Blake, and special guests George Cables, Bobby Watson and Stanton Davis, have all come forward after the recording of this project to say - look out for this lady and her music. "She's Dangerous" should put her firmly in the vanguard of the few musicians who are writing and performing the new standards. With performances that actually give the listener a warm, evocative, and sensuous voice to listen to, Ms. Wilson also remembers the vocal stylings, and criterion, of the greats of old. The future direction of jazz, and creativity are clear - and the great music to accomplish that is right here. According to Ms. Wilson, "The new music should never be a shadow of the past, but a thoughtful evolution."
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