Anthony Wilson Nonet At Joe Henderson Lab

Anthony Wilson Nonet
Joe Henderson Lab
San Francisco, CA
September 4, 2025

Anthony Wilson chose a high-wire debut for his first time leading his own band at SFJAZZ: nine musicians packed onto the Joe Henderson Lab's stage—roughly 20 by 12 feet—to open the 2025-26 season. The Nonet fit like a well-designed puzzle. More importantly, the sound breathed. The Lab's acoustics let dense voicings bloom without smear, and the band used the intimacy to make orchestral ideas feel close and human.

Wilson arrived, celebrating the release of House of the Singing Blossoms (Sam First, 2025), and the set drew largely from that book, alongside gems from his more expansive catalog and a Joe Zawinul medley. The personnel mixed veteran poise with youthful spark: Wilson on guitar; drummer Mark Ferber; alto saxophonist Nicole McCabe; tenor saxophonist Bob Reynolds; baritone saxophonist Daniel Wijedasa; trumpeter CJ Camerieri; trombonist Nate Gilbreath; pianist Josh Nelson; and acoustic bassist Alan Jones. Throughout the hour-plus performance, Wilson functioned as both soloist and traffic cop, shaping entrances and dynamics with quick hand cues that kept nine voices moving as one.

"Triple Chase" opened the night with swing and sentiment. Composed by Wilson's father, Gerald Wilson, the tune doubled as a birthday tribute. "If he were still with us, he'd be celebrating with us tonight," Wilson said, drawing a warm murmur from the crowd before the band hit. Ferber's cymbal beat had buoyancy, Jones walked with muscle, the horns answered the saxophones in staggered figures that telegraphed the band's blend. Attacks were crisp with a fat center and no harsh edge. Reynolds took an early tenor turn, easing from velvet middle-register lines into a grainy, well-placed shout. If the brass sat a touch hot in the first minute—a common balance check with a large ensemble on a tight stage—the mix locked in quickly.

The evening's most compelling narrative arrived in the Zawinul medley, "In A Silent Way/Walk Tall." Wilson set the mood with rubato guitar—sustained voicings, harmonics that hung in the air—while the horns entered on breath and smear. Ferber barely touched a muted snare. Then Nelson pivoted the group toward a lean funk pocket: spare left-hand jabs, right-hand filigree that teased the melody without telegraphing it. Pads thickened in the brass; the saxophones stitched quiet counter-lines. Gilbreath, stationed near the stage-left window, delivered a standout solo with a centered tone, lyrical slides into the upper register and a hint of growl. The choice to keep the groove tight rather than stretch it into a marathon felt right for the room and the clock—momentum, not indulgence prevailed.

"Hymn" offered contrast and a spotlight. McCabe's alto solo was the purest singing of the night, built from patient phrases that breathed and grew in length. Nelson's comping answered each idea without crowding it. Wilson, content to conduct the shape more than dominate it, let the dynamic crest naturally. Camerieri's section leadership was evident in the clean attacks and unified swells, with subtle guidance and intense payoff.

Wilson saved the title track, "House of the Singing Blossoms," for last, and it landed like a statement of purpose. The melody—simple enough to hum yet harmonically nimble—unfurled over shifting textures: unisons blooming into three-part harmonies, brass swells receding to leave guitar and piano alone at the center. Wilson's solo prioritized narrative over flash, featuring clear motifs and sidesteps that resolved with a satisfying click. More telling was the way he directed transitions between features, dropping chordal punctuations and shaping crescendos so the band sounded bigger than nine. That conductor's mindset—rare for a guitarist—was central to the night's character.

Between pieces, Wilson kept the talk brief and generous. He saluted the emerging players on the stand and framed the band as part of a larger, ongoing conversation. "Sharing these experiences leads to meeting new people, often quite a bit younger, who inspire us to continue exploring and discovering," he said. He also nodded to his nearby teaching post at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, connecting the dots between mentorship and the fresh energy audible onstage.

The overall execution, tight writing, strong section playing, and solos carried the evening's performance. The sound quality was excellent, the pacing smart, and the arrangements made full use of the ensemble without crowding the room's scale.

There was no encore. At 65 minutes, the set had to turn quickly for the 8:30 show. Wilson met folks outside the Lab's entrance to sign copies of House of the Singing Blossoms and chat with listeners—a gracious coda that matched the music's warm, human scale.

Setlist: "Triple Chase," "Border Town," Joe Zawinul medley: "In A Silent Way/Walk Tall," "Hymn," and "House of the Singing Blossoms."

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