Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Matt Wilson Quartet: Humidity

Matt Wilson Quartet: Humidity

By C. Michael Bailey
February 18, 2003
View read count

Drummer Matt Wilson’s Humidity is somewhat of a free affair. The recording is very much a drummer lead date, with angular, complex rhythms and harmonies, aggressive and assertive tempos, and pile and piles of smart composition. Wilson pays an obvious debt to the late Billy Higgins on the opener, which is essentially a trio between Wilson and saxophonists D’Angelo and Lederer. The piece has a bit of a Middle Eastern flair, a mood that wafts through the entire set. This mood continues with "Swimming in the Trees" but becomes more low-key and spacious on the nominal ballad "Cooperation." D’Angelo’s bass clarinet is very Dolphy-like.

The title cut begins with a simple clarinet figure, supported by some light percussion from Wilson. Here the entire group gets into the act with handbells, making one certain that this is what Charles Mingus would have sounded like composing for the Methodist Church. The horns simple smack of Mingus in the 1960s. The disc on the whole is very free and should appeal to those listeners who are looking outside of the mainstream. A fine, fine recording.

Visit Palmetto Records .

Track Listing

Thank You Billy Higgins; Swimming In The Trees; Cooperation; Free Willy; Wall Shadows; Raga; Code Yellow; Humidity; Don't Blame Me; Our Delight; All My Children; Beginning Of A Memory. (Total Time 55:03).

Personnel

Matt Wilson

drums

Andrew D

Album information

Title: Humidity | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Palmetto Records

About Matt Wilson

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Charlie Haden's Nocturne
< Previous

Stan Getz 'Award Winner' (1957) Bob...
Next >

Become a Sustaining Member

Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.

Help Build the Future of All About Jazz

Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.

Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.

Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.