KALIL Amar WILSON

Vocalist, pianist, educator, and composer Kalil Amar Wilson has become one of the most potent and promising musicians of their generation. Gifted with a powerful yet nuanced voice and a technical versatility that positions Kalil comfortably in jazz, R&B, pop, and even classical, Wilson has earned high marks from the music press and has captivated audiences from Barcelona to Berkeley, Monterey to Moscow, with performances that defy easy categorization. Wilson’s bright re-imaginings of jazz standards and originals are well-informed by the rich history of great jazz singing, while melding seamlessly with heartfelt, eclectic stylings.

An Oakland native, Kalil’s early life was filled with music. As a student, Kalil was mentored by the Oakland Youth Chorus and the Young Musicians Program at UC Berkeley, studying with renowned and respected Bay Area local bass-baritone Mr. David Livingston Tigner. Kalil went on to earn a spot in UCLA’s Voice and Opera program under heroic tenor and master teacher Timothy Mussard, performing classical music while achieving an honors degree in a field they loved: ethnomusicology. “I was looking for that meaning I had encountered as a child, the idea of music as something that’s not isolated from the audience, that could move people and build a community.”

After winning numerous classical competitions and singing lead opera roles and concerts, Kalil graduated from UCLA as “Distinguished Ethnomusicologist” of their class of 2006 and began to gravitate back towards jazz performance. “I started to realize that many of the musical styles I had heard when I was young are really forms of jazz,” Kalil says. “They may not be called jazz, but they contain all the same forces that are at work in jazz. They are all conversations, people working things out within a melodic and harmonic framework.”

Encouraged in this pursuit by jazz legend Kenny Burrell, Kalil recorded and released them first album, Easy To Love, with the Berkeley Everett Trio. The album showcases Wilson's unique renditions of beloved jazz evergreens like "Nature Boy" and "Day by Day," plus heartfelt, soulful interpretations of R&B favorites like "A Song for You" and “If It’s Magic.”

Listening to Kalil sing jazz favorites, soulful ballads, lush originals, and even operatic arias, you might start to wonder: Is this the same voice? From the Metropolitan Opera to Walt Disney Hall, throughout Europe, Asia, and the U.S., Kalil Amar Wilson has captivated audiences and music critics alike with vocal prowess and versatility. Their pursuit has taken them far, having shared stages with luminaries like Kenny Burrell, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock, Esperanza Spalding, and Omara Portuondo. Kalil’s bright re-imaginings of jazz standards and originals bow to the rich history of great jazz singing while melding seamlessly with soulful, eclectic stylings. While Kalil is home in the Bay Area, jazz lovers have the chance to be stirred by their unique interpretations and amazing, velvety voice.

Kalil’s second full-length album, Time Stops, was recorded in 2018 and featured a number of romantic and upbeat original compositions arranged and co-composed by pianist and teacher Dan Marschak. The album was widely hailed on the Bay Area's own KCSM and propelled Kalil on a series of tours across Russia.

Since touring and visiting Europe and Asia extensively in 2017–20, Kalil was invited onto the voice and piano faculty at the California Jazz Conservatory in downtown Berkeley, CA, broadening Wilson’s focus to include an emphasis on vocal pedagogy, exploring systematic yet approachably specialized courses like “Universal Vocal Technique,” “Basic Piano for Vocalists,” and “R&B Styling the American Songbook.”

In 2023, Wilson was ordained as a cantor in the Russian Orthodox Church, pursuing performance and educational practices rooted in both a natural and technical appreciation and understanding of the capabilities of the human voice through deep history and shared origins.