St. Louis Jazz Hero
Anthony Wiggins describes himself, with no false modesty, as a “bridge between the old guard and the new guard of musicians.” The son of Andrew and Bessie Wiggin, a native of East St. Louis, Illinois born on March 25, 1970, he began playing cornet in the fourth grade at East St. Louis School District 189, a district with a strong music department.
Wiggins’ father, a trained vocalist and pianist at University of Arkansas (Pine Bluff), sparked his son’s interest in music, and Anthony’s first music teacher, trumpeter Frank Gully took the boy under his musical wing for three years. In junior high school, Wiggins studied under another trumpet player, Robert Reed. He seemed destined to become one of St. Louis’s most treasured musicians and educators.
At Lincoln High School in East St. Louis in 1987 Anthony studied under Ronald Carter, an iconic band director and current Professor Emeritus at Northern Illinois University. Carter had moved from his native Georgia to East St. Louis, and had become a member of Wiggins’ church, so their relationship, person and professional, has spanned decades. Also in 1987, Wiggins won the #2 Best Jazz High School Jazz Musician in DownBeat magazine’s inaugural Annual Musicfest USA, finishing behind Roy Hargrove. It is no secret that Lincoln High School has produced alumni such as Miles Davis, Russell Gunn and the late Montez Coleman; similarly, it proved to be central to Wiggins’ musical development.
Anthony went on to play professionally with Gunn in a band called The Young Lions, which gained fame at the Uptown, a club St. Louisans recall for its epic Wednesday night jam sessions. Subsequently, he enrolled at Northern Illinois University (NIU) to study music performance under Reginald Thomas, Chairman of NIU’s Jazz Department and another of his former Lincoln High mentors.
In the late 1990s, Wiggins was recruited to work with Jazz-U, an education program of Jazz St. Louis, the not-for-profit organization whose mission is to advance the uniquely American art of jazz through performance, education and community engagement. His primary responsibility was teaching jazz fundamentals and theoretical principles at schools throughout the St. Louis area. During his seven-year tenure, he trained a host of musicians who are currently making major contributions in and beyond St. Louis. Among those whom he has significantly influenced are Keyonn Harrold, Kasimu Taylor, Danny Campbell and Steven Martin. Keep ears open for them!
In 2010 Wiggins suffered a brain aneurism that left him in a coma for 18 days, followed by another 25 days of hospitalization. Despite this harrowing experience, his faith did not wane. He’s always stayed cool. In fact, one of the few times in his life he was nervous was during his high school’s performance at a Clark Terry Benefit. It was not the performance that unsettled his nerves, but the fact that Terry was in attendance front and center!
We in St. Louis are eternally grateful Anthony Wiggins recovered, still performs and continues to train aspiring musicians. As well, he serves as associate pastor at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Cahokia, Illinois. Congratulations our St. Louis Jazz Hero! — Eddie Becton
