Sometimes referred to as “melodic tone poems,” Jim Wilson’s music has been described as “a magical carpet ride of melodic beauty” by music legend Carole King and as making “a classy, artistic statement” by master tunesmith Burt Bacharach. Guest artists on Jim’s recordings have included David Sanborn, J.D. Souther, Chris Botti, Dan Fogelberg and with “Hard Times” (the Arlo Guthrie track and video Jim produced during the pandemic, which premiered on RollingStone.com,) Andy McKee and Stanley Clarke. Jim’s had two PBS specials, including A Place in My Heart, which was filmed before a sold-out audience of 1,300 fans at the GNC Performing Arts Center in Amarillo, TX.
In the mid-‘80’s, Jim helped develop a revolutionary MIDI-adaptor for the acoustic piano, which for the first time allows this age-old instrument to interact with computers and synthesizers. He developed a topflight reputation, teaching uses of MIDI-piano to the upper echelon of pop musicians such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, Jackson Browne, Burt Bacharach, Carole King, and many, many more. Whenever Jim played his own music for them while sitting at their pianos, they encouraged him to pursue his own musical dreams.
As a piano technician, Jim also collaborated with Spectrasonics, a leading innovator of world-class, award-winning virtual instrument software plug-ins, on the release of “Keyscape”. Keyscape is a “virtual instrument” that features the largest selection of unique, collector keyboards in the world –– including Jim’s personal, customized Yamaha C7. The library / piano is endorsed by artists including Herbie Hancock and Jacob Collier, who called it “the best piano sample.” Ten years in the making, the library was released on September 1, 2016. The piano heard on “Hard Times” is in fact the virtual instrument representation of Jim’s personal piano, as offered in Keyscape.
Early on in Jim’s recording career, Jim landed an official endorsement by Yamaha Pianos, with the company providing instruments for his performances across the country both as a solo artist and with his six-piece band. Wilson has composed music for the CBS-TV series Frank’s Place and CNN’s Showbiz Today television show devoted a segment to Jim’s music.
Four of Jim’s 10 recordings have hit the Billboard Top-20, he’s had two PBS specials, and his music has been streamed over 75 million times by fans around the globe. NARAS recently made him a “Lifetime Member” of the Recording Academy. He enjoys scuba diving, skiing, and pilot lessons.