About
North Carolina-based saxophonist and composer Joe Michael Forrey Wilson creates music inspired by a wide range of genres and styles from different eras and places- though always grounded in his jazz approach to hearing and serving the moment. As both a leader and collaborator in dozens of bands and interdisciplinary arts projects, he has lived and performed all over New York City and Houston, TX, as well as touring Europe, Brazil, India and the US, playing at such notable venues as Lincoln Center, The Jazz Standard, House of Blues, nublu, Miller Theater, and Novilla.
In 2018 while still living in New York, Wilson founded and co-led the band dustlights, an electroacoustic experimental jazz trio collaging songs and improvisations out of ambient layers, dense soundscapes, trance grooves, and melodic essences. Their two albums- released on Ropeadope Records- received positive radio play in Europe and US, as well as regional tours of New York and Texas.
Wilson’s soundtracks and compositions for film and theater have appeared at Cannes Film festival, Blumenthal Center for the Arts, and Moody Center for the Arts, among other venues. During an artist residency at Novilla Cultural Center in Berlin in 2021, he composed, performed, and created video for the 15-minute “Hurrian Suite”, as well as other compositions involving video and choreography. In 2022 he composed and performed “Touch the Earth”, a 3-part suite for large ensemble, voice and choreography, inspired by the life and work of bell hooks.
Wilson has a master’s in Jazz Composition (M.M.) from North Carolina Central University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Dramatic Writing from New York University. While continuing his own journey as a student of music and life, he also guides musicians of all types and styles via a thriving studio of private students in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area and online.
