"Sounds of Music" Concert Series: Pamela Wise

More information on this concert series is on our "Sounds of Music" Concert Series page.

Pamela Wise has been a major force in the local and national jazz and latin jazz scenes for 30 years. She has performed and composed for artists such as Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Leon Thomas, Regina Carter and Eddie Harris (to name just a few).

In 1989, Pamela formed her own ensemble with saxophonist James Carter, trumpeter Dwight Adams, bassist Jaribu Shahid, drummer Ali Muhammad and percussionist Andrew Daniels. She received two Creative Artist Grant awards from the Arts Foundation of Michigan to write compositions demonstrating the link between Afro Cuban and jazz music.

In 1994, her husband, Wendell Harrison (a jazz legend in his own right) introduced Pamela to world-renowned percussionist Jerry Gonzalez and produced her first compact disc SONGO FESTIVIDAD. All of Pamela's CDs are available on WenHaJazz.com and several other digital download sites including CDbaby.com, iTunes and many others. Pamela continues to be a dynamic performer and ensemble leader, producer/arranger, and music educator on the local, national and international jazz scenes.

"Wise, an assured bop pianist with a Tyneresque (as in McCoy Tyner) touch, composes strong melodies and braces them with the simmering rhythms of the Afro-Cuban tradition." Dan Ouellette-Downbeat Magazine