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Steve Wilson at the Jazz Room
Steve Wilson The Jazz Room Charlotte, NC June 21, 2019 Saxophonist Steve Wilson has an extensive discography. In addition to his recordings as a leader, he has played with such jazz musicians as pianist Chick Corea, saxophonist Michael Brecker, bassist Dave Holland, big band arranger Gerald Wilson, and saxophonist Joe Henderson. He spent the week as guest clinician at JazzArts Camp, working with young area jazz players. For his shows at the Jazz Room he ...
read moreSteve Wilson: Lifetime of Study
[ Editor's Note: The following interview is reprinted from George Colligan's blog, Jazztruth] I'm very happy to have the opportunity to interview a musician that I've worked with a lot over the years. When people say that a musician has worked with everybody in the business, Steve Wilson has literally worked with everyone in jazz. It would be hard to name somebody that he hasn't worked with in jazz. I feel like this is kind of a coup ...
read moreSteve Wilson: "Music education is in crisis"
"I think jazz education, frankly, is in crisis."Saxophonist Steve Wilson voiced this strong opinion in response to a recent article about the effects that budget cuts have had on many American school music programs. Sitting in a practice room at Juilliard, he shared his concerns about the current state of music education and how he has watched things change over the last 20 years.An accomplished musician, Wilson is also an educator who has served on the ...
read moreSteve Wilson: Consummate Pro
Saxophonist Steve Wilson, one of the bright talents on the New York City--or any--scene, understands the value of music education. He's very involved in it. He also understands the importance of mentorship, which comes from his days hanging out with some jazz giants at his days as student at Virginia Commonwealth University, and later doing the same when he arrived as a young man in New York City and started to expand an already growing reputation.
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Generations, Live at the Kennedy Center Jazz Club
Generations: Steve Wilson, Billy Childs, Ray Drummond and Ben Riley Kennedy Center Jazz Club Washington, DC October 22, 2005Those of you who know Steve Wilson will probably wonder what cave I've been living in, but this club date was my introduction to the saxophonist, as well as Kennedy Center's KC Jazz Club. I certainly knew the work of his rhythm section: Billy Childs on piano, Ray Drummond on bass and Ben Riley on ...
read moreSteve Wilson: Soulful Sound
MaxJazz, once touted as a "boutique label," now can boast being a full fledged jazz label with a vision. Beginning with the Vocal Series, then the Piano Series, and now the Horn Series, the label continues to pave new inroads into jazz performance and marketing. Inaugurating the new Horn Series is multi-instrumentalist Steve Wilson. But after listening to this disc, one would think the series should be called "Horn Vocals" (preempting the upcoming "Piano Vocals" series initiated by Patti Wicks). ...
read moreSteve Wilson: Soulful Song
Saxophonist Steve Wilson's extensive experience with the Mingus Big Band and Chick Corea's Origin make up only a shadow of the vast array of musical influences on his definition of jazz. His career has carried him to all facets of the jazz world: some adventurous and some laid back. Soulful Song represents a theme. The leader has brought his favorite sounds together into one album. Of his inspiration for this kind of musical celebration, Wilson says, “On the same [radio] ...
read moreSteve Wilson: Passages
Among some talented peers that would have to include Kenny Garrett and Jon Gordon, Steve Wilson is arguably one of the best alto saxophonists on the scene today. But it goes beyond that, because he has also established a unique approach to the soprano saxophone as well as the flute. Following his four decidedly mainstream affairs for Criss Cross and his first effort for Stretch, Generations, Wilson's sophomore release for Chick Corea's imprimatur is surely his most realized project yet ...
read moreSteve Wilson: Passages
Steve Wilson's second Stretch release is a triumph. It's more focused than 1998's Generations in that Wilson employs his regular working band this time around: pianist Bruce Barth, bassist Ed Howard, drummer Adam Cruz, and guest trumpeter Nicholas Payton. All the music is, in a word, alive. There are nine Wilson originals, one by Barth ("The Lexter," among the best), and one by Keith Jarrett ("Days and Nights Waiting"). Every track is full of color--melodically, harmonically, rhythmically. The band delivers ...
read moreSteve Wilson: Passages
With a straight-ahead ensemble playing mostly his own compositions, Steve Wilson moves between straight-ahead jazz and the more involved modern mainstream in groups of two, three, four and five. There’s something special added to each arrangement to make it unique. On “Eye of the Beholder," for instance, Wilson weaves in and out of modal harmonic situations while his supporting piano trio plays it straight. Steel pans are added for a unique melodic effect. “Q-B-Rab" struts with a super-confident New Orleans ...
read moreSteve Wilson: Generations
A glance at the personnel list confirms that Steve Wilson assembled a gold-standard rhythm section for his debut recording on Chick Corea's Stretch label. Miller, Drummond and Riley are about as seasoned as they come. Wilson himself is one of those enterprising and technically competent players with whom--for some murky reason--I am simply unable to connect on an emotional level, which is where one's response to music of any kind is usually sequestered. Miller, Drummond and Riley praise Wilson highly, ...
read moreSteve Wilson: Generations
Alto saxophonist Steve Wilson’s modern mainstream quartet spans generations with respect to career accomplishments, but the music is timeless. Sixty-five year old drummer Ben Riley came up in the 1950s and ‘60s with Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, and Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis. Fifty-one year old bassist Ray Drummond came up in the 1970s and ‘80s with Freddie Hubbard and Bobby Hutcherson. Forty-three year old pianist Mulgrew Miller came up in the 1980s with Art Blakey, while thirty-seven year old saxophonist Steve ...
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