Best known as a sideman in
Chick Corea's Origins and many other famed jazz ensembles,
Steve Wilson developed his fluid style and versatility through years of study, touring and session work with artists like
Jon Hendricks,
Ellis Marsalis,
Don Byron,
the Mingus Big Band, Out of the Blue and
Frank Foster. By the early '90s,
Wilson was stepping out on his own as a leader, issuing a series of albums for the Criss Cross label. By the mid '90s his work began to earn increasing critical praise -- in 1997 and 1998 he was named in a Downbeat critics poll as a "talent deserving wider recognition" for both soprano and alto saxophone. Two projects in the late '90s especially highlighted
Wilson's strengths;
Avashai Cohen's 1998 album,
Adama, was a beautiful exploration of Middle Eastern sensuality that often seemed hung on
Wilson's bright and flowing sax lines. His own 1999 project for Concord records, Generations, showed off
Wilson's flexibility, by bringing together a multi-generational cast of players, including
Ben Riley,
Ray Drummond and
Mulgrew Miller.
Passages appeared the following year. ~ Stacia Proefrock