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Gerald Wilson

Born in Shelby, Mississippi on September 4, 1918, Gerald Wilson was a self-taught jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He is recognized as one of the great big band leaders of his generation. At the age of six, his mother began teaching him to play the piano and five years later, she taught him the trumpet. At the age of 16, he relocated to Detroit, Michigan to continue his schooling, graduating from Cass Technical High School. In 1939, he replaced Sy Oliver in the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra, and brought along some of his own compositions. After relocating to Los A...