Wallace Roney earned the admiration and respect of his colleagues....

by Ron Wynn
Wallace Roney's dilemma recalls that of Sonny Stitt in the '50s and '60s: his trumpet tone, timbre, approach, phrasing, and sound so closely mirror that of Miles Davis in his pre-jazz/rock phase that he's been savaged in many places for being a clone and unrepentant imitator. Stitt stopped playing alto for years because of his disdain of being labeled a Charlie Parker clone; Roney, on the other hand, played many of Miles Davis' parts on the 1992 tribute to the Birth of the Cool sessions, which was issued in 1993 as Miles Davis and Quincy Jones at Montreaux.

Roney even addressed the situation in the publication Jazz Times in 1993, blasting what he saw as unfair critical obsession with his stylistic similarity to Davis. It's a classic no-win situation; he does sound tremendously like Davis and can't be completely absolved from critical charges of imitation. But he's also a fine, evocative player on ballads and can be fiery and explosive on up-tempo tunes. Roney put in his stint in one of the last editions of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.

He began recording as a leader in the late '80s with several sessions for Muse in primarily a hard bop mode, many pairing him with equally energized saxophonists Gary Thomas or Kenny Garrett. In 2000, Roney took a creative turn toward funk and experimental post-bop with the album No Room for Argument, a direction he has stuck with through several albums, including 2004's Prototype and 2005's Mystikal. He released Jazz in 2007.
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:39fyxql5ldae~T1

Here's what the publicist says:
Wallace Roney earned the admiration and respect of his colleagues and his elders since age 16. He has been an integral part of the band with Tony Williams, Ornette Coleman, Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones, Walter Davis Jr., Herbie Hancock, Jay McShann, David Murray, McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, Curtis Fuller, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Dizzy Gillespie to name a few. He was one of the few musicians in his generation who learned and perfected his craft directly from alliances with Jazz Masters. But his most important and meaningful relationship was with Miles Davis.

Wallace was mentored by Miles Davis after Miles heard him in 1983 at his birthday gala performance in Carnegie Hall. Their association peaked when Miles chose Wallace to share the stage at his historic performance in Montreux in 1991. After Davis died, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams and Roney banded together and toured the world in tribute.
My goal is to make the best music I can. Although I like all types of music I am first and foremost a jazz musician, Black African American classical music.

Influences:
Who Else? MILES!!! Also: Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Coles, Clifford Brown, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Booker Little, Clark Terry, Harry Sweets Edison, Eddie Harris, Lee Morgan, Blue Mitchell, Kenny Dorham.