Laurent de Wilde

Dividing his time between the United States and France, Laurent de Wilde has found a welcoming audience in both countries. His third solo album, Open Changes, resulted in de Wilde receiving a Django Reinhardt Award for Best French Musician of 1992. In addition to leading his own group, de Wilde has worked as a session player for Reggie Workman, Ralph Moore, Greg Osby, Joshua Redman, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Aldo Romano, André Ceccarelli, Harold Land, and Tom Harrell. His first four albums featured tenor saxophonist Joe Coleman, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and trumpet player Eddie Henderson. His fifth release, Spoon-a-Rhythm, released in 1997, featured St. Thomas-born drummer Dion Parson and former Miles Davis and Weather Report percussionist Bobby Thomas Jr.. Born in Washington, D.C., de Wilde moved to France before his fifth birthday. After studying philosophy at Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, he returned to the United States to attend Long Island University. While there, he met and befriended pianist Joey Calderazzo. Settling in New York, de Wilde was mentored by such influential pianists as Jim McNeely, Kirk Lightsey, and Mulgrew Miller. A member of Eddie Henderson's band in 1986, he recorded his debut solo album, Off the Boat, the following year. He followed with the impressive solo albums Odd and Blue in 1989 and Colors of Manhattan in 1990. Signing with Sony Jazz France in 1994, he released his fourth album, The Back Burner, in 1995. De Wilde authored a biography of influential jazz pianist Thelonious Monk in 1996, which received a Charles DeLaunay Prize for Best Book on Jazz. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide