Today we’d like to introduce you to Wilgens Pierre.
Hi Wilgens, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Coming from a family recognized in the Haitian community as the “musical family”, I was destined to become a musician. Most of the men in my family including my father, uncles, and older cousins, were musicians. As a result, it was only right that my father encouraged me to become one too. By “encouraged”, I mean that he didn’t exactly give me a choice but today, I am thankful for that. I vividly remember my father hiding the TV when he realized my siblings and I were not practicing enough. I hated it then because all I wanted to do was watch anime. Ironically, once he stopped forcing us to practice, I started to do it on my own and genuinely loved it. The piano was the first instrument I learned how to play. Then came the violin, which I played from 6th to 12th grade. I was never passionate about playing the violin so I eventually stopped playing after graduating from high school. The instrument I first fell in love with was the trumpet, which I played all throughout high school and college. The trumpet is why I discovered jazz, why I majored in Music in undergrad, and why Miles Davis is my all-time favorite artist. I was so dedicated to my craft as a trumpet player that I would not leave my house without it – not even to go to the grocery store. It was like an extension of myself.
I started playing bass during my junior year of college. Initially, I started playing it as a pastime, a healthy distraction from the stress of being a music major. I guess I was more stressed than I thought because I started practicing it all the time and became proficient very quickly. Within a few months of learning the instrument and before even owning any professional equipment of my own, I was getting real gigs and people were actually calling me back. That’s when I realized there was potentially something there. It pretty much took on a life of its own after that point and the rest is history. Now I work as a full-time musician, with bass being my principle instrument. Music has given me the opportunity to make a living doing what I love, meet and work with some amazing people, and experience some of the best things that life has to offer. Most recently, after years of playing a more supporting role, I finally decided to release music of my own as a solo artist. I can honestly say that although this new chapter brings many new challenges, it has been the most rewarding.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s rare to find a musician who would say that their career has been smooth sailing. Being a good musician is a craft that takes a lot of time, consistency, and dedication to master, all while dealing with people making you feel like there’s no real future in it. The interesting thing is that, as a society, music is included in everything that we do (weddings, funerals, celebrations, church, graduation ceremonies, even when placed on hold on a business line). However, people will make you feel like you don’t have a real job because you do something you actually enjoy for a living. From experience, people usually don’t see the results of the work you put in until years later. That aspect alone can create struggles for someone who is not mentally ready to deal with it. Otherwise, I’ve learned that if you do the work and put yourself out there, the rest will take care of itself.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am most proud of my versatility in music. My music truly reflects my life experiences with various cultures and that sets me apart from others. Fortunately, I’ve been exposed to various styles of music from an early age. I grew up in church playing hymns, studied Classical and Jazz in college, formed part of a rock/country band, am the bassist for a Latin rock band, played Top 40s pop music in party bands, have gotten to play with artists from Africa, Haiti, India, and various countries in Latin America studied sound synthesis so I’m very big on synthesizers and electronic music, and the list goes on. I pride myself on being able to function in any musical situation. Some of my biggest influences include Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Bill Evans, Beethova Obas, Emeline Michel, Tye Tribbett, Victor Wooten, Richard Bona, just to name a few. The beauty in having such a variety of musical influences is that my musical identity has become a sum of all those influences and it can be heard in my original works, which is why I would classify my music as World Music.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
If you’d like to work with me or collaborate with me, please feel free to reach out to me via email: wpmg37@gmail.com. Support is always appreciated! You can support me by purchasing/streaming my original music. My latest EP is entitled “Odyssey” and it can be found on all digital platforms. You can also follow me on social media.
Contact Info:
- Website: tinyurl.com/odyssey-listen
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wilgens7/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4GAep88JuzHVGtU3cAa2Ug
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/6t32ZuQL0iDtOPsa1xx5bn
Image Credits
Griffin Davis Savery Cherenfant Drayton McJunkins
