|
Wycliffe Gordon |
|
 |
Traveling the world playing hard-swinging, straight-ahead jazz, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon has been hailed by jazz critics and has received the Jazz Journalists Association 2002 and 2001 Awards for Trombonist of the Year, the Jazz Journalists Association 2000 Critics’ Choice Award for Best Trombone and a nomination for the Jazzpar Prize. In addition to solo performances, he leads the Wycliffe Gordon Quartet, has been a featured guest artist on Billy Taylor’s “Jazz at The Kennedy Center” series, and is a former member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet. He has released 10 solo and three co-leader CDs. Featured on recordings with the Wynton Marsalis Septet, Wycliffe is also a composer and arranger and was commissioned to compose a new score for the 1925 silent film “Body and Soul.” His musical tribute to Muhammad Ali was commissioned and premiered by The Brass Band of Battle Creek. Wycliffe’s compositions have been performed across the US and abroad. Television appearances include the Grammy Awards, the PBS documentary “Swingin’ with the Duke,” and two “Live from Lincoln Center” broadcasts. He also appeared in Ken Burns’ documentary “Jazz,” a Carnegie Hall Christmas Concert plus “Live from Lincoln Center: The Juilliard School at 100.” He was guest artist and commentator on NPR’s tribute to Tommy Dorsey. A committed music educator, Wycliffe is a founding faculty member of the Jazz Studies Program at The Juilliard School. He is the youngest member of the U.S. Statesmen of Jazz and a musical ambassador for the U.S. State Department. Born in Georgia, Wycliffe found the trombone at age 12. |