Audio Howard Wiley
The Angola Project

Most of us reach our late 20s with the distant hope of merging passion and profession.

But for 28-year-old Howard Wiley, he's been living that dream for more than 16 years.

The San Francisco Bay Area jazz man started playing piano at his grandmother's knee when he was 3 and took up the saxophone at 11. Within seconds of meeting him, you're faced with a man at ease and terribly comfortable in his own skin.

Despite a jovial and self-deprecating nature, Wiley has stepped into heady fare in recent years, having recently finished his second project that is inspired by and based on an anthology of spirituals recorded at the Angola Prison in Louisiana 50 years ago by folklorist Harry Oster, as well as Wiley's eye-opening trip to the still-active prison in 2007.

Before premiering his latest project, Twelve Gates to the City, to a packed house at Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco, Wiley sat down with MP3.com to discuss his work, his influences, and his inspiration.

He also let us film part of his moving, wide-ranging performance.

Interview with Howard Wiley

Howard Wiley & Angola Project - "Three Days"

Howard Wiley & Angola Project - "Threnody"

Howard Wiley & Angola Project - "John Taylor"