Reuben Wilson was among many soul-jazz organists who emerged in the late 1960s. However, he was only one of a few new organists from that period to be signed by Blue Note. Most of the artists on the label were focused on soul-jazz. Wilson, while occasionally breaking from the norms of the genre, mostly followed them. He recorded five sessions between 1968 and 1971 for the label. Although none of his recordings received much recognition at the time, they were later rediscovered and rediscovered by new generations of soul-jazz enthusiasts, who made them collector’s items in acid jazz and souljazz revivalist circles. Wilson started performing professionally in 1962. Born in Mounds, Oklahoma, Wilson moved to Pasadena (CA) as a young man. There he studied with future jazz musicians Bobby Hutcherson, Herb Lewis, and many others. Wilson started learning to play the piano as a teenager but was soon distracted by boxing. He moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17 and married a singer in a nightclub. Through her, he met many professional musicians. Wilson was inspired to return to music by his association with musicians. He decided to pursue the piano instead and he soon began playing the organ at the Caribbean club. There he met guitarist George Freeman and drummer Eddie Williams. After playing the L.A. circuit for many years, he decided to try his luck at Las Vegas. He was unsuccessful in that venture so he returned to L.A. where he made a friend with Richard “Groove”, an organist who would have a profound influence on his style. Wilson moved to New York in December 1966 and formed the soul-jazz group the Wildare Express along with drummer Tommy Derrick. After six months of playing at venues on the East Coast and Detroit, Wilson and Tommy Derrick formed the Wildare Express, a soul-jazz trio. Wilson then decided to focus on harder bop and more complex versions of soul-jazz. Wilson was soon joined by such well-known musicians as Roy Haynes, Sam Rivers, and Grant Green. Blue Note offered Wilson a contract on the basis of a demo that he had sent to them. Blue Note’s first album, On Broadway, Wilson recorded a session with his old bandmate Derrick in October 1968. Love Bug followed it in March 1969, featuring contributions by guitarist Grant Green and trumpeter Lee Morgan. Blue Mode, his third album, was released in December 1969. It featured some of his most exciting playing. Wilson’s fourth album, 1970’s A Groovy Condition, was his last. He moved in a commercial direction much like his Blue Note counterparts. He recorded Set Us Free in July 1971. This was his last album for Blue Note. After Set Us Free, Bad StuffWilson was terminated from Blue Note and he moved to Groove Merchant. There, he released three albums, Cisco Kid, Bad Stuff and The Sweet Life, in the mid-’70s. He also participated in sessions with jazz, soul and funk artists throughout the decade. He recorded only sporadically in the late 1970s and then retired from music in early 1980s. Wilson’s music was rediscovered by new generations of listeners in the late ’80s. They didn’t consider his recordings to be commercial fluff. His late-’60s- and ’70s records were sampled and became a cornerstone of the new jazz-rap and acid jazz genres. His out-of-print records quickly became collector’s items and his sampled licks began appearing on dancefloors across England and New York. Samples of his records eventually appeared on the hit albums A Tribe Called Quest and Us3, Brand New Heavies and Nas. Wilson returned to performing in 1995 after all the attention. He toured with Guru’s Jazzamatazz show. He began to write new material and performed in new groups, some of which he created. He signed to Hip Bop in 1996 and released two albums, Organ Donor and Live at SOB’s. He recorded Organic Grooves the following year with Doug Carn and Dr. Lonnie Smith. Allmusic
