Phillip Sanford Wilson (September 8, 1941 – March 25, 1992) was an American blues and jazz drummer, a founding member of the

Art Ensemble of Chicago The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz group that grew out of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, AACM) in the late 1960s. The ensemble integrates many jaz ...

, and a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

Biography

Born in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, United States, Phillip Wilson was a third generation musician. His grandfather, Ira Kimball, was a percussionist playing on the riverboats that traveled down the Mississippi from St Louis to New Orleans. His recording debut was with Sam Lazar, noted for having one of the first interracial bands in the St. Louis area. After moving to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, he became a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians AACM and performed with the

. He joined up with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1967 at a time when the band membership changed greatly, including an added

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the term ...

. He recorded three albums with the group. Wilson's song "Love March", written with

Gene Dinwiddie Gene Dinwiddie (born Charles Eugene Dinwiddie; September 19, 1936 in Louisville, Kentucky, United States – January 11, 2002 in La Puente, Los Angeles, California, aged 65Social Security Death Index for Charles E. Dinwiddie, born 19 September 19 ...

, was performed at

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

and released in 1970 on the live album from the festival. Wilson, along with Dinwiddie and fellow former Butterfield Band member

Buzz Feiten Howard "Buzz" Feiten II (born November 4, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, session musician, and luthier. He is a lead and rhythm guitarist and patented a tuning system for guitars and similar instruments. Feiten also manufactu ...

, formed the jazz-rock band Full Moon in the early 1970s. They recorded a self-titled album which is considered one of the finest early examples of

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

. Wilson was part of the loft jazz scene in 1970s New York, worked as a session musician for

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in September 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. ...

in Memphis and with

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

at the Cafe Au Go Go and Generation Club in 1968, and recorded with

The Last Poets The Last Poets is a poetry collective and musical group that arose in the late 1960s as part of the African-American civil rights movement and black nationalism. The name was inspired by revolutionary South African poet Keorapetse Kgositsile who ...

Fontella Bass Fontella Marie Bass (; July 3, 1940 – December 26, 2012) was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter best known for her number-one R&B hit " Rescue Me" in 1965. She was nominated for a Grammy Award twice. Early life Fontella Bass was bor ...

Olu Dara Olu Dara Jones (born Charles Jones III; January 12, 1941) is an American cornetist, guitarist, and singer. He is the father of rapper Nas. Early life Olu Dara was born Charles Jones III on January 12, 1941, in Natchez, Mississippi, Natchez, Mis ...

, David Murray,

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chi ...

Carla Bley Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg; May 11, 1936 – October 17, 2023) was an American jazz composer, pianist, organist, and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she gained acclaim for her jazz opera ''Escalator ...

and many others. During the 1980s, he worked extensively with

Lester Bowie Lester Bowie (October 11, 1941 – November 8, 1999) was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and co-founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Biography Born in th ...

. In 1985, he and

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, wo ...

co-produced the album '' Down by Law'' under the group name

Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...

. Near the end of his life, he was actively pursuing his music career and had been performing regularly at Manhattan's Lower East Side hot spot Deanna's. Wilson was stalked and murdered in New York City on March 25, 1992. As a result of the ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Entertainment#Fox Alternative Entertainment, Fox Alternative Entertain ...

'' television program, Marvin Slater was arrested and later convicted, in 1997 for premeditated murder, and sentenced to 33 1/3 years in state prison. The motive for this murder was not revealed during the trial and is still unknown.

Discography

As leader

* ''Full Moon'' with Full Moon (Douglas, 1972) *Phillip Wilson Quartet, ''Live at Moers Festival'' (Moers, 1978) ** ** ** ** ** ** * * * *Phillip Wilson Trio Live With Leo Smith and Johnny Dyani, ''Fruits'' (Circle Records, 1978) * ''

Duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

'' with Lester Bowie ( Improvising Artists, 1978) * *''Esoteric'' with Olu Dara (Hat Hut, 1979) *'' Down by Law'' with

(Celluloid, 1985) *

As backing musician

;With The Art Ensemble * ''1967/68'' (Nessa, 1993) ;The Rance Allen Group * ''A Soulful'' Experience (Stax Records, 1975) ;With Martha Bass, Fontella Bass, David Pearson * ''From the Root to the Source'' (Soul Note, 1980) ;With

* ''Amarillo World Headquarters Austin Texas March 27. 1978'' (Hat Hut, 2018) ;With

Hamiet Bluiett Hamiet Bluiett (; September 16, 1940 – October 4, 2018) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. His primary instrument was the baritone saxophone, and he was considered one of the finest players of this instrument. A membe ...

* ''

Endangered Species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

'' (India Navigation, 1976) ;With

* ''Hello Dolly'' (Muse Records, 1974) * '' African Children'' (Horo, 1978) * ''

The 5th Power ''The 5th Power'' is a live album by Lester Bowie recorded for the Italian Black Saint label and released in 1978. It was recorded during a concert tour of Europe by Bowie's group "From the Roots to the Source" and features performances by Bowi ...

'' (Black Saint, 1978) * ''

The Great Pretender "The Great Pretender" is a popular song recorded by the Platters, with Tony Williams on lead vocals, and released as a single in November 1955. The words and music were written by Buck Ram, the Platters' manager and producer who was a successf ...

'' (ECM, 1981) * '' All the Magic'' (ECM, 1983) * ''

I Only Have Eyes for You "I Only Have Eyes for You" is a song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin. The song was written for the 1934 film ''Dames (film), Dames'', in which it was performed by Dick Powell. Several other successful recordings of the song were m ...

'' (ECM, 1985) * '' Avant Pop'' (ECM, 1986) * '' Twilight Dreams'' (Venture, 1987) * ''

The Organizer ''The Organizer'' ("''I compagni''" literally translates into "''The Comrades''.") is a 1963 Italian-French-Yugoslavian-produced drama film written by Mario Monicelli and Age & Scarpelli, and directed by Mario Monicelli. Set in Turin at the end ...

'' (DIW, 1991) * '' Funky T. Cool T.'' (DIW, 1991) ;With

* '' Town Hall 1972'' (Trio, 1972) * '' Creative Orchestra Music 1976'' (Arista, 1976) ;With

Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, and bandleader. After early training as a Western concert flute, classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored ...

* ''

The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw ''The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw'' is the third album by the American blues rock band Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Its name refers to Elvin Bishop, whose role shifted to lead guitarist after Mike Bloomfield departed to form the Electric Fla ...

'' (1967) * ''

In My Own Dream ''In My Own Dream'' is the fourth album by the American blues rock band Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Released in 1968, it continued the trend of its predecessor '' The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw'' in moving towards a more soul-oriented so ...

'' (1968) * '' Keep on Moving'' (1969) * '' Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More'' (1970) * * ;With

James Newton James W. Newton (born May 1, 1953) is an American jazz and classical flutist. Biography He was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. From his earliest years, James Newton grew up immersed in the sounds of African-American music, inclu ...

* ''Paso Del Mar'' (Indian Navigation Company, 1978) * ''Portraits'' (Indian Navigation Company, 1982) With John Carter * ''John Carter Quintet'' (Moers Music) With

Julius Hemphill Julius Arthur Hemphill (January 24, 1938 – April 2, 1995) was a jazz composer and saxophone player. He performed mainly on alto saxophone, less often on soprano and tenor saxophones and flute. Biography Hemphill was born in Fort Worth, Texas, ...

* '' Dogon A. D.'' (Freedom, 1972) * '' Coon Bid'ness'' (Freedom, 1975) * '' The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony'' (New World, 2021) With Peter Kuhn * ''Ghost Of A Trance'' (Hat Hut Records, 1981) ;With Sam Lazar * '' Playback'' (Argo, 1962) ;With

Lightnin' Rod Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin (July 24, 1944 – June 4, 2018) was an American poet and musician. He was one of the founding members of The Last Poets, a group of poets and musicians that evolved in the 1960s out of the Harlem Writers Workshop in ...

* '' Hustlers Convention'' (Celluloid, 1973) ;With

Frank Lowe Frank Lowe (June 24, 1943 – September 19, 2003) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer. Biography Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Lowe took up the tenor saxophone at the age of 12. As an adult he moved to San Francisco, where h ...

* The Frank Lowe Orchestra, ''Lowe and Behold'', (Musicworks, 1977) * Frank Lowe & The Saxemple, ''Inappropriate Choices,'' (ITM, 1991) * ''Out of Nowhere'' (Ecstatic Peace, 1993) * ;With Bugsy Maugh * ''Bugsy'' (Dot Records,1969) ;With

Roscoe Mitchell Roscoe Mitchell (born August 3, 1940) is an American composer, jazz instrumentalist, and educator, known for being "a technically superb – if idiosyncratic – saxophonist". ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' described him as "one of the key figure ...

* '' Old/Quartet'' (Nessa, 1967) ;With David Murray * '' Low Class Conspiracy'' (Adelphi, 1976) * '' Flowers for Albert: The Complete Concert'' (India Navigation, 1975) * '' Live at the Lower Manhattan Ocean Club'' (India Navigation, 1977) ;With Juma Sultan's Aboriginal Music Society * '' Father of Origin'' (

Eremite A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

, 2011) recorded in 1970–1971

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Phillip 1941 births 1992 deaths 1992 murders in the United States Jazz musicians from Missouri Drummers from St. Louis Deaths by firearm in New York City People murdered in New York City American murder victims 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians American jazz drummers American male drummers American male jazz musicians Art Ensemble of Chicago members Deadline (band) members Paul Butterfield Blues Band members Improvising Artists Records artists