Steve Wilson puts himself on an unusual situation with the forthcoming Live in New York: The Vanguard Sessions, and not just because it’s his first new album release in 12 years. For these May 2014 live dates, Wilson returns with the intriguingly cross-talented Wilsonian’s Grain — featuring pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Bill Stewart.
Their’s is an amalgam that never seemed like it would work and, even as this album begins, feels like a perhaps foolhardy creative risk. Along the way, however, this seemingly disparate grouping ends up pulling dramatic new thoughts out of one another. A perfect mismatch, they challenge Steve Wilson’s concepts even as they bolster them. Hear for yourself on Wilson’s original “Spheresophically,” an exclusive advance sample from Steve Wilson and Wilsonian’s Grain Live in New York: The Vanguard Sessions, due March 24, 2015 via Random Act Records.
This live date is Wilson’s first headlining effort since 2003’s Soulful Song, and also his first concert recording as a leader, first live album at the historic Village Vanguard, and the first release with Wilsonian’s Grain — who’ve been working together, off and on, since 2008. Live in New York: The Vanguard Sessions was also Wilson’s first-ever Kickstarter-related project, having been partially funded by hundreds of contributors.
Steve Wilson included another pair of originals, “Chrysalis” and “Perry Street” in the set, to go with Orrin Evans’ “Spot It You Got It,” and cover of Thelonious Monk (“Well, You Needn’t”) and Joe Chambers “Patterns”), among others. A number of tour dates will follow the March release of Live in New York: The Vanguard Sessions.
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