About the Photographer
From an early age, Brooklyn-born fine art photographer Wil Gray was compelled to express himself musically and visually. For close to 20 years he has been conceptualizing and producing engaging visual experiences through varied media. During his career, he has provided artistic direction, communication and visual design for top-tier companies such as CNN, Turner Broadcasting, Discovery Communications, Omnicom Media Group and McGraw Hill Education.
After studying photography at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and School of Visual Arts, and drawing inspiration from New York’s vibrancy and energy, Wil became interested in beauty, fashion, and live music fine art photography with a focus in jazz performance. Though at the time being fairly green in concert work, Wil had been asked by acclaimed pianist and composer Lucian Ban (after photographing several of his previous performances) to cover a recording release show at a recently established entertainment venue, (le) poisson rouge (LPR) in New York City. This lead to his very first published image in DownBeat Magazine and an almost decade-long association with LPR.
Always continuing to explore new avenues in creative photography, the artist’s proposed concepts include a fashion-influenced fine art series in tribute to women and scenes of New York’s iconic neighborhoods inspired by jazz standards.
“Each generation must document its own legacy. I am, in my own way, contributing to the cultural historical record.”
Clients
Kim Smith Public Relations, (le) poisson rouge / LPR Presents, Fully Altered Media, New York City Winter JazzFest
Music Artists
Claudia Acuña
Cyril Aimée
Ambrose Akinmusire
Lucian Ban
Lakecia Benjamin
George Burton
Terri Lyne Carrington
Joe Chambers
Avishai Cohen
George Coleman
Kat Edmonson
Essiet Okon Essiet
Chara Fasi
Sullivan Fortner
Marcus Gilmore
Joyce Hammann
Roy Hargrove
John Hebért
Eddie Henderson
Shabaka Hutchings
Vijay Iyer
Tamar Kali
Grace Kelly
K I N G
Corey D. King
Takuya Kuroda
Victor Lewis
Lionel Loueke
Joe Lovano
Kendra Morris
Nicholas Payton
Justin Robinson
Badal Roy
Cécil Mclorin Salvant
Pharaoh Sanders
LaFrae Sci
Kendrick Scott
Jorge Silvester
Alice Smith
Dr. Lonnie Smith
SOMI
Esperanza Spalding
Terell Stafford
Marcus Strickland
Igmar Thomas
Burniss Earl Travis
Tim Warfield
Kamasi Washington
Nadia Washington
Brandee Younger
and many others…
Models & Celebrities
Venessa Rubio, Actress | Model
Megan Channell, Actress | Model
Elena Ng, NPC Bodybuilding Champion