Adam James Wilson Quintet: Unify (2002)

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

Longtime contributor to AAJ and Downbeat, Jazz Review, EjazzNews, Radio DirectX.

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Published: June 22, 2002

Guitarist Adam James Wilson hails from upstate New York and acknowledges folks such as Joe Maneri and Harry Partch as influences. His infatuation with microtones is transposed into his utilization of a fretless guitar. On this outing, Wilson’s quintet explores clipped themes, subtle variances in pitch and disparate tonal ranges amid free improvisational excursions. Needless to state, improvising ace Joe Maneri’s influences are evident here. However, the band delves into a bevy of concepts and practices that intimate a personalized mode of attack. Flutist, Arto Artinian provides ephemeral characteristics to this outing, due to his concisely organized yet altogether airy lines. Jonathan Vincent (piano) and Katt Hernandez (violin) often complement Wilson’s sinuous voicings with interleaving patterns and discontinuous exchanges.

The guitarist cranks up the volume in a few spots, as the band sometimes sound like a wayward prog-rock outifit. Essentially, they surge forward with a mindset that might offer a new twist to previously applied theorizations or practices. Whereas the album title offers credence to the notion that the musicians are emphasizing the value of the whole and the correlation of its parts.

Adam James Wilson

Track Listing: 1.Unify 2.Steam Engine 3.Brooklyn 4.Cry For Me 5.Somnambulus 6.Diminuendo 7.Stark 8.Two Plus One 9.Turn Away 10.The Slow Crucible 11.Under Your Thumb 12.Until The Beginning

Personnel: Arto Artinian: flute

Record Label: All Music
Style: Modern Jazz