Gini Wilson

Gini Wilson, known as The Duchess, is legendary in the Bay area as a brilliant jazz pianist, entertainer, and composer. In concerts and interviews she is also noted for her irreverent sense of humor . She is the Director and, with reedman Steve Heckman, the co-founder of The San Francisco ChamberJazz Quartet. When not performing at concerts and festivals with the group, Gini performs regularly at well-known Bay area clubs such as Jazz at Pearls, Bacar and Shanghai 1930 in San Francisco. She has done many television and radio projects and was a regular on the NPR radio show “West Coast Live”. She has been the Music Director for many clubs and musical projects in the Bay Area. She studied classical piano (M. Music) and studied composition with the American master George Crumb before dedicating herself primarily to jazz. As an educator and member of the Music Teachers of America, and IAJE, she teaches both classical and jazz disciplines in Marin County, California.

The SFCJQ has made waves in the San Francisco area and nationally. Their concerts and recent CDs, SFCJQ (2005) and The Crossing Point, (2003) and were heard extensively on national jazz radio stations and gained national attention and praise…

“With her effortless technique and thorough knowledge of the classic piano literature of both Europe and America, Gini Wilson joins the noble tradition of George Shearing, Lenny Tristano and Bill Evans in merging the best of 'classical ' music with the best of jazz.” Grover Sales, jazz author, historian and critic

Gini and the SFCJQ appear regularly in jazz festivals and concerts in Northern California such as The Bach Dynamite and Dancing Society, San Jose Jazz Festival, Jazz at Kuumbwa, The Whale and Jazz Festival in Gualala, Music in the Mountains Festival, Jazz in Jackson Hole, Wyo. and the San Miguel de Allende International Festival in Mexico and many others. Show less