Olly Wilson - Composer ''Portrait'' Series #1 (2022)

July 2022; here inaugurating a new C.P. sub-series dedicated to the work of Composers whose output was strewn out across a myriad regional compilations and ensemble/performer surveys, having never had a single unifying solo release to their name.

Olly Woodrow Wilson was born in St. Louis & started as a student at Oberlin Conservatory in the 60s (he appears on Bass as part of the Original Superior Dodds Lives Jazz Band on one of the "Oberlin Jazz Spectrum" LPs) before debuting his Electronic Music via the 1968 4th volume of Turnabout's seminal "Electronic Music" series (see the soon-to-be-repressed CP 000.22 for all five volumes) with his award-winning piece "Cetus" (track 2 here, realized in the studio for Experimental Music of the University of Illinois under Herbert Brün's tutelage in 1967). Featured here are "Piece For Four" (1966, track 1, performed by Bertram Turetzky et.al as issued on CRI SD 264 in 1970), "Piano Piece For Piano And Electronic Sound" (1971, track 3, as written for & performed by Natalie Hinderas & issued on the 1971 Desto-label "Plays Music By Black Composers" Boxed Set), "Akwan" (1972, track 4, recorded & issued in 1975 alongside pieces by Thomas Jefferson Anderson, Jr. & Talib Rasul Hakim on the Columbia Masterworks "Black Composers Series – Vol. 8" LP), "Echoes" (1974, track 5, written for & performed by Clarinetist Philip Rehfeldt & issued in 1977 on CRI SD 367), & finally the incredible "Sometimes" (1976, track 6, performed by Tenor William A. Brown & issued in 1977 on CRI SD 370).

This set comes as a single disc housed in a six-panel booklet (each covers the artwork & relevant details/liners of Olly's contributions) with a double-sided Portrait inserted as the front cover. Further volumes are planned over the next year or so exploring Composers such as Alfredo Del Monaco, Norma Beecroft, and others).