This time, he's taking a more personal
and focused approach to his music. A sound he describes as 'SMOOTH
JAZZ" with R&B inflections.
"My first experience with music I can
remember is of my father, sitting me on his lap and playing the
saxophone. I was about four years old and I remember thinking how bad
and out-of-tune he sounded.I didn't know what that meant then, but I
felt it. My father was not a musician but he was a jazz lover, he
would fill the house up with the sound of John
Coltrane and Miles
and all the greats." Wilson talk about his formative years.
Another encouraging musical experience. In
1984 I was introduced to Mercer Ellington, the son of the great Duke
Ellington, He let me sit in with the band at rehearsals and take a
road trip and hang-out backstage with the band. Mercer was an
incredible person, he really opened my eyes to the demands of the
professional musician. After that trip I understood that it was time
to be real."
Within two years of that introduction.
Wilson had developed his songwriting skills and began working with
dance producers Bobby Orlando (Pet Shop Boys) and Jurgen Kudruleth
(Claudia Barry, Full Force). He wrote for many of their new acts and
was published that same year. Soon after, Wilson began producing music
himself and formed his own band, the vocal R&B group Az One, who
was signed to Profile records in 1989. The single was well received by
listeners, radio and Billboard
Magazine, but contractual problems soon caused its demise.
"The Az One project left a bad taste
in my mouth and I seriously thought about doing something else in my
life. I did a lot of musical soul-searching. I had to define what my
musical personality was going to be. Was I a writer, producer, or a
trumpet player? What type of music was I going to pursue,Jazz or
R&B? As I looked inside myself, I saw the answer - I was actually
all of these things and I wanted to play all of these roles and my
experience had given me the background to do so."
Soundsamples at
Willis
Wilson 
