[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 130 (Thursday, September 11, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              IN REMEMBRANCE OF JAZZ MASTER GERALD WILSON

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                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 11, 2014

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, losing a great jazz artist is always hard 
for those of us who love the art form. The joy these musicians bring 
into our lives--the technical skill and virtuosity they allow each of 
us to witness--is never easily replaced. But it is especially hard when 
we lose someone who we not only admired as an artist, but who we were 
fortunate enough to call our friend. This past week we lost Mr. Gerald 
Wilson, who I had known for many years, and who had just turned 96 on 
September 4, 2014.
  Mr. Gerald Wilson was to me not only an icon in the Jazz community--
having served as a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master--he was 
a fellow Detroiter. His penultimate masterpiece, Detroit, captured in 
all its glory the vibrant spirit of the town that made the 20th Century 
possible, as well as the promise the future holds for our great city.
  For seven decades, Gerald Wilson was a force on the jazz circuit 
where he played, conducted, and arranged with his own band and with 
names we all know: Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, and 
Ella Fitzgerald. In addition to his talent as a performer and composer, 
he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, taught for many years 
at universities in California, and most importantly--was a loving 
husband and father.
  Just a few years ago, he was the headliner at a concert I promoted as 
part of an annual leadership conference held in Washington, D.C., where 
we celebrated his 92nd birthday. Though I am heartbroken to see him go, 
I know that I am--and we all are--fortunate to have had the chance to 
know him, see him, and hear him.

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