Gerald Foster Wiggins (born May 12, 1922 in New York City died July 13, 2008 in Los Angeles) was a jazz pianist and organist.
He studied classical, but switched to jazz in his teens. He began as a professional playing accompaniment to Stepin Fetchit. He worked with Louis Armstrong and Benny Carter. In the 1940s he moved to Los Angeles where he played music for television and film.
He also worked with singers like Lena Horne, Kay Starr, Nat King Cole,Lou Rawls, Jimmy Witherspoon and Eartha Kitt. In 1960 his best recording as an organist appeared, Wiggin' Out, known for the quality of its music and fresh, clear -like live- sound.
Gerald had long been a highly flexible pianist quite
comfortable in swing or bop settings, but he was at his best when performing
with his longtime trio, a group also including bassist Andy Simpkins and
drummer Paul Humphrey. Wiggins' swinging and consistently witty style,
typically filled with catchy riffs, was at times reminiscent of Erroll Garner
and Art Tatum, but generally quite distinctive.
"The Wig" started with piano lessons when he was
four, switching from classical music to jazz as a teenager. He doubled on bass
while attending the High School & Art and worked for a time in the early
'40s as a piano accompanist for Stepin Fetchit. Wiggins played with Les Hite,
and in 1943 toured with the big bands of Louis Armstrong and Benny Carter.
While in the military (1944-1946), he often played in local jazz clubs in
Seattle. After his discharge, he settled permanently in the Los Angeles area.
A popular accompanist
for singers, Wiggins worked with Lena Horne (touring with her from 1950-1951),
Helen Humes, Ella Mae Morse, Eartha Kitt, Nat King Cole, Kay Starr, Lou Rawls,
Ernie Andrews, Linda Hopkins, and Joe Williams, among others. Wiggins was also
employed at Hollywood film studios and became the voice coach for many movie
actors who took on singing roles. In particular, he was Marilyn Monroe’s tutor
for her songs in such films as Some Like It Hot. In pride of place in his music
room was a huge signed portrait of her, inscribed with her thanks: “I can’t
make a sound without you,” it said.
In the Los Angeles area, Wiggins has led trios since the
1950s, becoming a consistent fixture in local clubs. In recent times, he has
played piano with Frank Capp Juggernaut and worked with fellow Concord artists,
like Scott Hamilton. Gerald Wiggins has led sessions through the years for
Swing and Vogue (both in 1950), Ember, Crown, Tampa, Specialty, Motif, Mode,
Challenge, Hi-Fi, Contemporary (1961), Black & Blue, and, in the 1990s,
Concord.
With movie work, his trio jobs and his support for vocalists, Wiggins largely disappeared off the jazz radar in the 1950s and 60s, although his profile was raised when Jerry Fielding hired him with saxophonist Buddy Collette and bassist Red Callender to appear live on his TV show, something of a breakthrough for black musicians.
Humes & Wiggins at Nice 1978 |
As the days of resident studio musicians came to an end in the 1980s, Wiggins once more returned to the Los Angeles club circuit, as well as playing with the big band led by the trumpeter Gerald Wilson. Although he was known for writing various jazz tunes, such as his own feature Da Silva Wig, and continued to compose, the 1980s and 1990s led to his high point as a player, epitomised by the solo album he made at the Maybeck Hall in 1990, which encapsulates all his qualities. In particular his fellow pianist Jimmy Rowles praised his “natural relaxation”, and this remained Wiggins’s great individual asset, the ability even at a headlong tempo to create shape and form in a performance with unhurried authority.
Wiggins died on July 13, 2008, aged 86.
(Info edited mainly from All Music & Times On Line)
4 comments:
For “The Chronogical Classics: Gerald Wiggins 1950” go here:
https://www.upload.ee/files/9951967/Gerald_Wiggins_-_1950.rar.html
1) The Wig 2:49
2) Orient Express 3:00
3) Coffee Time 3:11
4) Limehouse Blues 2:52
5) S'Posin' 3:45
6) Saundra Lee 3:25
7) Wiggin' With Wig 2:56
8) By the River St. Marie 3:31
9) I Get a Kick Out of You 3:48
10) Too Marvellous for Words 3:29
11) Three Little Words 3:02
12) Have You Met Miss Jones 2:52
13) Candy 3:14
14) Why Was I Born 3:03
15) All the Things You Are 3:31
16) Ivan Suite/Wig's Suite/Chico's Suite 7:54
AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow
This CD has the first performances led by pianist Gerald Wiggins, all made for the French Vogue and Swing labels. Wiggins, whose highly individual style falls between swing and bop and at times hints at Erroll Garner and Art Tatum, has been an institution in the Los Angeles area for over a half-century. For these trio performances he is joined by Pierre Michelot, Buddy Banks, or Jean Boucherty on bass and Kenny Clarke (on the first two numbers) or Chico Hamilton on drums. Hamilton has a very rare (and somewhat odd) vocal on "By the River Sainte Marie." Otherwise, the focus is on Wiggins' infectious piano playing. He stretches out on such numbers as "The Wig" (his lifelong nickname), "Coffee Time," "Limehouse Blues," "Wiggin' With Wig," "All the Things You Are," and a three-part work titled "Ivan Suite," "Wig's Suite," and "Chico's Suite." Recommended.
Oh, WOW, this is just fabulous. Just the type of piano jazz I love and can have playing all day long. Thanks so much for this -- what a pleasure!
Please repost Jerry Mengo et son orchester. Thanks. Oldman
Hello Oldman, I have re-posted Jerry Mengo with revised playlist. Regards, Bob
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