Steve Wilson Confirms Village Vanguard for August 6-11, Intends to Establish Wilsonian’s Grain as His Working Quartet
Recent Interview in All About Jazz Shows That Wilson Considers Music Education in a State of Crisis
Jazz saxophonist Steve Wilson has confirmed his return to New York’s Village Vanguard for August 6-11. At the upcoming shows, Wilson intends to bring his quartet Wilsonian’s Grain (featuring Orrin Evans, Ugonna Okegwo and Bill Stewart) into the spotlight, using these concerts as a ‘launching point’ as he establishes the band as his current working quartet.
In January, the band played at the University of FL in Gainesville, it was this gig that cemented this idea for Wilson. “The band’s performance was exactly as I had envisioned for this quartet, employing the comprovisational element — improvisation and composition, i.e., the group’s spontaneous composition and improvisation elements. This enables the group to explore any of the tunes from different perspectives with every performance so that the music is in effect a sketch that we can paint a different image of with each performance. This is the band – Orrin, Ugonna and Bill – with whom I want to explore this territory.”
Wilson, one of the most most respected and acclaimed musicians in the business, recently spoke with ALL ABOUT JAZZ regarding what he perceives as a crisis in Music Education. Read the engaging article, here: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=44834&pg=1#.Udw88zlblUQ
Here’s a new WBGO interview with Gary Walker:
http://www.wbgo.org/blog/saxophonist-steve-wilson-with-gary-walker
Wilson’s 12/12 visit to the Village Vanguard yielded a live concert broadcast on NPR, a full-page feature in the NY Daily News (written by Greg Thomas,) a stellar Time Out NY Photo Preview Pick, and more. Time Out NY praised: “Whether he’s the leader or a sideman in a given situation, seeing Steve Wilson’s name on a jazz bill is as close to a guarantee of quality as you’ll ever find.”
As always, Wilson’s busy schedule of touring, collaboration and guest appearances continues, and a full itinerary follows below.
UPCOMING STEVE WILSON ACTIVITY/APPEARANCES:
July 16-20: with Billy Childs Quartet, Birdland, NYC
July 23: Jazz in July at the 92nd St. Y – The Mad Hatter: Music of Chick Corea
July 26: Steve Wilson/Bruce Barth Quartet (with Doug Weiss and Adam Cruz), The Falcon, Marlboro, NY ( http://www.liveatthefalcon.com/ )
July 28 – Aug 2: Artist in Residence, Samba Meets Jazz, Bar Harbor, ME
Aug 6 – 11: Wilsonian’s Grain (with Orrin Evans, Ugonna Okegwo, Bill Stewart), The VIllage Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., NY, NY 10014, set at 8:30p & 10:30p ( http://villagevanguard.com/html/home.html ), $25. 212-255-4037 >
Aug 18 – 22: Artist in Residence, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Aug 27 – 29: Artist in Residence, Adventures in Jazz, Schroon Lake, NY
Aug 31: with the Christian McBride Big Band, Curacao
Sept 4-6: with Christian McBride Big Band, University of MD, College Park
Sept 7-9: with Christian McBride Big Band, Record
Sept 20: Steve Wilson/Lewis Nash Duo with Bassist Nat Reeves, St. Michael’s College, Burlington, VT
Sept 21: Steve Wilson/Lewis Nash Duo with Bassist Nat Reeves, Vermont Jazz Center, Brattleboro, VT
Oct 18-20: Wilson/Rosnes/Washington Trio, Dizzy’s Coca Cola Club, NYC
NY DAILY NEWS
FULL-PAGE INTERVIEW FEATURE by Greg Thomas, 12/3/12
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/saxophonist-steve-wilson-takes-lead-village-vanguard-article-1.1212513
Steve Wilson is known as a super-professional sideman, but now he takes the lead at the Village Vanguard
NPR MUSIC – Live Broadcast of Village Vanguard concert, 12/5/12
http://www.npr.org/event/music/166127626/wilson-rosnes-washington-live-at-the-village-vanguard
TIME OUT NY – Color Photo Critic’s Pick
12/12 http://www.timeout.com/newyork/music/steve-wilson-trio
Time Out says: Whether he’s the leader or a sideman in a given situation, seeing Steve Wilson’s name on a jazz bill is as close to a guarantee of quality as you’ll ever find. Like so many sax greats before him have done, Wilson hits the Vanguard with a trio—but there’s a catch. He’s working with pianist Renee Rosnes and bassist Peter Washington, no drums allowed. Expect chamber jazz of the most soulful sort.
Here’s a story re Steve Wilson’s recent performance in Gainesville.
GAINESVILLE SUN – Interview feature,
1/25/13, by Bill Dean
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20130125/ENT/130129772?tc=cr
Wilson earned saturation media coverage for his 50th Birthday celebration at New York’s Jazz Standard. He featured six different bands over six nights, and each set during the birthday week saw lines out the door. The diverse shows each reflected a different stage of Wilson’s evolution into what NPR describe as “one of the finest saxophonists in the business.”
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
NY CULTURE – FEBRUARY 7, 2011 – By LARRY BLUMENFELD
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703960804576119950902333990.html?mod=WSJ_NY_Culture_LEFTTopStories
At http://www.stevewilsonmusic.com/, visitors can get updates, sample new tunes and see performance footage. The site, part of the Jazz Corner family, also includes a streaming audio player, details of Wilson’s numerous band configurations, and more.
