Backgrounder: Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini

Jack Wilson was a jazz pianist with solid commercial instincts. His dashing looks and a fast arranging pen brought him to the attention of Buddy Collette, a West Coast multi-instrumentalist and studio musician. In the early 1960s, Buddy suggested that Wilson move out to Los Angeles, where studio orchestrating and recording work was plentiful. Wilson arrived and went directly to work, ghost arranging, recording under his own name and recording with major jazz musicians. By the mid-1980s, he relocated to New York where he performed at clubs with Barry Harris and in duos with bassists Boots Maleson and Peter Washington.

Back in 1965, Wilson recorded a bossa nova tribute album to Henry Mancini for Vault Records, an L.A. label founded by Jack Lewerke and Ralph Keffel. The album, Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, featured Wilson on piano with Roy Ayers on vibes, Antonio Carlos Jobim on guitar (listed as “Tony Brazil"), Sebastiao Neto on bass and Chico Batera on drums and percussion.

Here's the entire album, ad-free, courtesy of a link sent by West Coast arranger Roy Phillippe...