Jazz Articles about Blake Wilner

Blake Wilner Quartet: Interloper

by Chris May
April 20, 2006

At the risk of being guilty of national stereotyping, I have to say that London-based Australian expat Blake Wilner's guitar playing reminds me of Russell Crowe. Wilner may or may not enjoy pitching mobile phones at hotel receptionists, or rounding off an evening's drinking with an invigorating bar room brawl, but he brings the same lurching Wild West unpredictability to his music as his thespian compatriot does to a night on the town.

Bring it on. Interloper punches the lights ...

The Blake Wilner Quartet: The Reprieve

by Mark Sabbatini
November 1, 2004

Pull something in all directions at once and odds are it'll end up stuck in the middle.

The thought came to mind while listening to The Reprieve by the Blake Wilner Quartet, which claims influences ranging from Monk (minimal traditionalism) to Coltrane (maximal progressivism) to Philip Glass (maximal minimalism). The songs range from original swing to modern takes of Bob Marley and Tom Waits.

Sounds like a recipe for schizophrenia. So it's a surprise how consistent ...

Blake Wilner: The Reprieve

by Chris May
September 23, 2004

An Australian based in London since '00, Blake Wilner is currently touring the UK in support of this, his latest and third album. And if you like either post-Wes Montgomery straight-ahead jazz or fx-spiced funk and rock grooves--or both--then you should check him out, for he cuts it convincingly and infectiously in both those worlds.

The straight-ahead tracks, which make up about half of the album, are swinging and understated, and Wilner is particularly enjoyable in the difficult, ...