Top 5 Jazz Connections to Brian Wilson

1. From the age of 14, Wilson was heavily influenced by the vocal harmonies of popular jazz a cappella group The Four Freshman, using that inspiration to create the basis of the Beach Boys’ distinctive vocal sound
2. Jazz composition and theory had a big influence on Wilson’s expansive masterpiece Smile, and his composition “Busy Doin’ Nothin’” from the 1968 Beach Boys album Friends was directly inspired by the bossa nova of João Gilberto and Stan Getz
3. Jazz artists including Brad Mehldau, Charles Lloyd, Jason Moran, Eliane Elias, Larry Goldings, the Yellowjackets, Don Grusin, and many others have covered Wilson’s influential compositions
4. Blue Note Records head Don Was produced and directed the 1997 Brian Wilson documentary I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times, produced Wilson’s 1995 album of the same name and contributed to his latest release, No Pier Pressure
5. Wilson’s 2010 release, Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin, contains his interpretations of George Gershwin’s timeless compositions – songs that were heavily influenced by jazz and have become standards of the jazz canon. The recording reached #1 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart

Brian Wilson performs at Davies Symphony Hall on Friday, September 11 with fellow Beach Boys members Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin. Click here for more information. 

Eliane Elias + Paula West Open SFJAZZ 2014-15 Season

Opening Night: Eliane Elias celebrates the masterpiece Getz/Gilberto in Miner Auditorium

Opening Night: Paula West sings Ethel Waters in Joe Henderson Lab

Opening Night was an evening of tributes... Eliane Elias celebrated the bossa nova masterpiece Getz/Gilberto with lyrical saxophonist Harry Allen, while SF's own Paula West sang Ethel Waters in Joe Henderson Lab. Both Elias and West are back at it all weekend, as the SFJAZZ 2014-15 Season is underway! See what else is coming up at sfjazz.org.