Wilder was awarded the Temple University Jazz Master's Hall of Fame Award in 2006. The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award for 2008.
Wilder was born into a musical family led by his father Curtis, a bassist and bandleader in Philadelphia. Wilder's first performances took place on the radio program, "Parisian Tailor's Colored Kiddies of the Air." He and the other young musicians were backed up by such illustrious bands as Duke Ellington's and Louis Armstrong's that were also then playing at the Lincoln Theater. Wilder studied at the Mastbaum School of Music in Philadelphia, but turned to jazz when he felt that there was little future for an African American classical musician. At age 19, Wilder joined his first touring big band, Les Hite's band.
Wilder was one of the first thousand African Americans to serve in the Marines during World War II. He worked first in Special Weapons and eventually became Assistant Bandmaster at the headquarters' band. Following the war during the 1940's and early 1950's, he played in the orchestras of Jimmie Lunceford, Herbie Fields, Sam Donahue, Lucky Millinder, Noble Sissle, Dizzy Gillespie, and finally with the Count Basie Orchestra. From 1957 to 1974, Wilder did studio work for ABC-TV, New York, and in the pit orchestras for Broadway musicals, while building his reputation as a soloist with his albums for Savoy (1956) and Columbia (1959). His Jazz from Peter Gunn (1959), features ten songs from Henry Mancini ("Peter Gunn") television score in melodic and swinging fashion with a quartet. He was also a regular sideman with such musicians as NEA Jazz Masters Hank Jones, Gil Evans, and Benny Goodman. He became a favorite with vocalists and played for Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Johnny Mathis, Harry Belafonte, Eileen Farrell, Tony Bennett, and many others. Wilder earned a bachelor of music degree in 1953, studying classical trumpet at the Manhattan School of Music with Joseph Alessi, where he was also principal trumpet with the school's symphony orchestra under conductor Jonel Perlea. In the 1960s, he performed on several occasions with the New York Philharmonic under Andre Kostelanetz and Pierre Boulez and played lead for the Symphony Of The New World from 1965 to 1971.
He appeared on The Cosby Show episode "Play It Again, Russell" (1986), and played the trumpet in the Malcolm X Orchestra in Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" (1992). Since 1991 he returned as a leader and recorded three albums for Evening Star. He died on May 9, 2014 in New York City, of congestive heart failure.
Discography
As leader
1956 Wilder N' Wilder Jazz Savoy
1956 Softly With Feeling Jazz Savoy
1959 The Pretty Sound of Joe Wilder Jazz Columbia
1959 Jazz from "Peter Gunn" Jazz Columbia
1991 Alone With Just My Dreams Jazz Evening Star
1993 No Greater Love Jazz Evening Star
2003 Among Friends Jazz Evening Star
As sideman
With Trigger Alpert
Trigger Happy! (Riverside, 1956)
With Gil Evans
Into the Hot (Impulse!, 1961)
With Dizzy Gillespie
Gillespiana (Verve, 1960)
With Tadd Dameron
The Magic Touch (1962)
With Etta Jones
From the Heart (Prestige, 1962)
With Yusef Lateef
10 Years Hence (Atlantic, 1974)
The Doctor is In... and Out (Atlantic, 1976)
With Mundell Lowe
New Music of Alec Wilder (Riverside, 1956)
With Oliver Nelson
The Spirit of '67 with Pee Wee Russell (Impulse!, 1967)
With Houston Person
Broken Windows, Empty Hallways (Prestige, 1972)
With Shirley Scott
Great Scott!! (Impulse!, 1964)
With Sonny Stitt
What's New!!! (Roulette, 1966)
With others
Joe Newman: Hangin´ Out (Concord, 1984)
Benny Carter: A Gentleman and His Music (Concord, 1985)
Ruby Braff: Being With You (Arbirs, 1996)
Charlie Byrd: For Louis' (Concord, 1996)
Jay Jay Johnson: The Brass Orchestra (Verve, 1996)
The Heath Brothers: Jazz Family (Concord, 1998)
It Might As Well Be Spring
Joe Wilder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm as jumpy as a puppet on a string
I'd say that I had spring fever
But I know it isn't spring
I am starry-eyed and vaguely discontented
Like a nightingale without a song to sing
Oh, why should I have Spring fever
I keep wishing I were somewhere else
Walking down a strange new street
Hearing words that I have never heard
From a girl I've yet to meet
I'm as busy as a spider spinning daydreams
I'm as giddy as a baby on a swing
I haven't seen a crocus or a rosebud or a robin on the wing
But I feel so gay in a melancholy way
That it might as well be spring
It might as well be spring
The lyrics of Joe Wilder's song "It Might As Well Be Spring" convey a sense of restlessness, longing, and anticipation. The singer compares themselves to various objects and creatures that are unsettled or longing for something. They express a feeling of spring fever, despite it not being springtime. The lyrics highlight a sense of discontentment and a yearning for change.
In the opening lines, the singer compares themselves to a willow in a windstorm and a puppet on a string, emphasizing their restlessness and lack of control over their emotions. They acknowledge the presence of spring fever, typically associated with the joy and excitement of the season, but paradoxically, they feel it even when it isn't spring. This suggests that their restlessness and discontentment are not bound by external factors, but are internal and deeply rooted.
The second stanza further explores the singer's discontentment. They describe themselves as starry-eyed and vaguely discontented, comparing their state to a nightingale without a song to sing. This imagery suggests a longing for fulfillment and purpose. The singer questions why they should have spring fever when it's not the appropriate time, hinting at a desire for change and new experiences.
The third stanza illustrates the singer's yearning for an escape from their current situation. They express a longing to be somewhere else, roaming unfamiliar streets and encountering new people and perspectives. The mention of words they have never heard from a girl they've yet to meet suggests a desire for novelty and the unknown.
The final stanza juxtaposes contradictory emotions. The singer describes themselves as busy as a spider spinning daydreams and as giddy as a baby on a swing. This suggests a mix of excitement and imaginative longing. They confess that they haven't seen the typical signs of spring, such as crocus, rosebuds, or robins, but they still feel a sense of joy tinged with melancholy, suggesting that their internal state transcends seasonal expectations.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm as restless as a willow in a windstorm
I feel unsettled and unable to find peace, like a willow tree being tossed around in a violent windstorm.
I'm as jumpy as a puppet on a string
I am highly nervous and easily agitated, similar to how a puppet reacts when manipulated on a string.
I'd say that I had spring fever
I could claim that I am experiencing the excitement and restlessness associated with springtime.
But I know it isn't spring
However, deep down, I understand that the current season is not spring.
I am starry-eyed and vaguely discontented
I find myself daydreaming and somewhat dissatisfied without a clear reason.
Like a nightingale without a song to sing
Similar to a nightingale lacking a melodious tune, I feel a sense of emptiness or purposelessness.
Oh, why should I have Spring fever
Why do I experience these restless emotions typically associated with springtime?
When it isn't even spring?
Especially when it is not the actual season of spring?
I keep wishing I were somewhere else
I continually desire to be in a different place or situation.
Walking down a strange new street
Imagining myself strolling along an unfamiliar and novel street.
Hearing words that I have never heard
Being exposed to conversations and phrases I have never encountered before.
From a girl I've yet to meet
Coming from a girl I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting.
I'm as busy as a spider spinning daydreams
My mind is constantly occupied, much like a spider diligently weaving intricate daydreams.
I'm as giddy as a baby on a swing
I feel a sense of lightheartedness and excitement, similar to the joy of a baby on a swing.
I haven't seen a crocus or a rosebud or a robin on the wing
Although I have not come across any signs of spring, such as blooming flowers or birds in flight.
But I feel so gay in a melancholy way
Despite feeling both lighthearted and sad simultaneously.
That it might as well be spring
The intensity of my emotions suggests that it feels just like spring, even if it is not the actual season.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Tratore, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind