Wilson formed his own band, with some success in the mid-1940s. Wilson and His 20-Pc. Recording Orchestra performed at the twelfth
Cavalcade of Jazz held at
Wrigley Field in Los Angeles which was produced by
Leon Hefflin, Sr. on September 2, 1956. Also performing that day were
Dinah Washington, The Mel Williams Dots, Julie Stevens,
Little Richard,
Chuck Higgin's Orchestra, Willie Hayden & Five Black Birds, The Premiers,
Bo Rhambo, and
Jerry Gray and his Orchestra. In 1960, he formed a Los Angeles-based band that began a series of critically acclaimed recordings for the
Pacific Jazz label. His 1968 album
California Soul featured a title track written by
Ashford & Simpson, as well as a version of
The Doors' hit "
Light My Fire". Musicians in the band at various times included lead trumpeter
Snooky Young, trumpet soloist
Carmell Jones and saxophonists
Bud Shank,
Joe Maini,
Harold Land,
Teddy Edwards, and
Don Raffell. The rhythm section included guitarist
Joe Pass,
Richard Holmes (organist),
vibists Roy Ayers and
Bobby Hutcherson, and drummers
Mel Lewis and Mel Lee. Wilson's wife of more than 50 years, Josefina Villasenor Wilson, is Mexican-American, and a number of his compositions showed his love of Spanish/Mexican themes, especially "Viva Tirado", which later became a hit for the rock band
El Chicano. With his wife, Wilson had three daughters (Jeri, Lillian (Teri) and Nancy Jo), his son Anthony (who is the guitarist for
Diana Krall), and a number of grandchildren, all of whom have songs composed for them—his compositions were often inspired by his family members. Wilson continued leading bands and recording in later decades for the
Discovery and MAMA labels. Recent musicians included
Luis Bonilla, Rick Baptist, Randall Willis, Wilson's son-in-law
Shuggie Otis and son
Anthony Wilson (both guitarists); his grandson Eric Otis also played on such recordings. Wilson continued to record Spanish-flavored compositions, notably the bravura trumpet solos "Carlos" (named for Mexican matador
Carlos Arruza, and recorded three times over the years, featuring trumpeters
Jimmy Owens,
Oscar Brashear, and
Ron Barrows) and "Lomelin" (also named for a matador—Antonio Lomelin—and recorded twice, with solos by Oscar Brashear and
Jon Faddis). , Half Moon Bay, California, January 24, 1988 The National Endowment for the Arts named Wilson an NEA Jazz Master in 1990. In 1998 Wilson received a commission from the
Monterey Jazz Festival for an original composition, resulting in "Theme for Monterey", which was performed at that year's festival. In later years, he formed orchestras on the West and East coasts, each with local outstanding musicians. He also made special appearances as guest conductor, including with the
Carnegie Hall Jazz Band (now the
Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra of New York), the
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and European radio jazz orchestras, conducting the
BBC Big Band in 2005. He hosted an innovative show, in the 1970s, on KBCA in Los Angeles, which was co-hosted by Dennis Smith, where he played "...music of the past, the present, and the future." Wilson was a member of the faculty at
California State University, Los Angeles and the
University of California, Los Angeles, for many years recently winning a "teacher of the year" award. In the 1970s he also served on the faculty at
California State University, Northridge, where he taught Jazz History to wide acclaim among the student body, and has also taught at
Cal Arts in Los Angeles. In February 2006,
Wynton Marsalis and the
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra performed his music with Gerald Wilson conducting. He had a unique style of conducting: "Garbed in well tailored suits, his long white hair flowing, Wilson shaped the music with dynamic movements and the elegant grace of a modern dancer." Asked about his style of conducting by
Terry Gross on the
NPR show
Fresh Air in 2006, he replied, "It's different from any style you've ever seen before. I move. I choreograph the music as I conduct. You see, I point it out, everything you're to listen to." In June 2007, Wilson returned to the studio with producer Al Pryor and an all-star big band to record a special album of compositions commissioned and premiered at the
Monterey Jazz Festival for the festival's 50th anniversary. Wilson had helped lead celebrations of the festival's 20th and 40th anniversary with his specially commissioned works (1998's Grammy-nominated album
Theme for Monterey). The album
Monterey Moods was released on
Mack Avenue Records in September 2007. In September 2009, Wilson conducted his eight-movement suite "Detroit", commissioned by the
Detroit Jazz Festival to mark its 30th anniversary. The work includes a movement entitled "Cass Tech" in honor of his high school alma mater. In 2011, his last recording was the Grammy-nominated
Legacy. ==Death==