Ed Wiley, Jr. - Later Years

Later Years

In 1980, he recorded a gospel LP, "My Tribute." The, album, on the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Forward in Faith label, featured his wife on a bluesy original vocal, “Isn’t It Wonderful”; his oldest son, Ed III, on percussions; and his next to the oldest son, Duane, on drums. The uneven recording – a mixture of tunes that included everything from a Black gospel choir to a classically trained White singer – got little radio exposure outside of a few Christian-oriented stations.

But by the mid-1980s, Wiley, then recently divorced, began touring again. In 1993, he teamed up with former Jazz Messenger bassist Charles Fambrough, who produced Wiley’s first recording in more than a dozen years, “Until Sunrise,” on Swing Records, a label founded by Ed III. In addition to Fambrough, the date included other noted jazz musicians, such as drummer Bobby Durham (Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald) and trombonist Clifford Adams (Kool & the Gang).

But it was 1995’s “In Remembrance,” also on Swing, that marked Wiley’s re-emergence as a force in the music world. The recording brought together a who’s who of jazz greats, including his longtime friend Shirley Scott; bass veteran Milt “The Judge” Hinton (Cab Calloway, Art Tatum), Durham and former Dizzy Gillespie alum Mickey Roker on drums; Wynton Marsalis bandmate Wycliffe Gordon on trombone; and trumpeter Terell Stafford. On this offering, Wiley connects the Black musical experience, from the Negro spiritual to bebop.

Following the release, USA Today called Wiley “jazz’s comeback kid,” adding that few match his “guttural sound. …He’s honed a rich, gospel-like sax tone that also borrows from R&B and jazz.” Two months later, The Washington Post noted, “Whether he’s playing the blues, counting his blessings or paying homage on ‘In Remembrance,’ veteran saxophonist Ed Wiley Jr. Projects the resonant sound and soulful assurance so closely associated with the ‘Texas Tenor’ tradition. No matter that he long ago moved north and settled in Philadelphia. He’s still got the touch.”

Wiley would return to the studio frequently throughout the 2000s, always surrounded by a cross generation of renowned accompanists, including pianists Kenny Barron, Roland Hanna and John Hicks; trombonist Al Grey; trumpeters Nicholas Payton and John Swana; organist Joey DeFrancesco; and guitarists Mark Elf, Kevin McNeal and Jimmy Ponder; and drummer Ben Riley.

In 2000, after 48 years, Wiley and blues singer Piney Brown reunited to perform at the Blues Estafette, a revue featuring the greats of blues, in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

In February 2010, Wiley moved to Garner, North Carolina, to live with his oldest son.

Wiley died on September 27, 2010, in Garner, at the age of 80, after an injury from a fall.