New York isn't a name that one ordinarily expects to see in the title of a
Gerald Wilson album.
Wilson, after all, has long been associated with the Los Angeles jazz scene; he started recording there in the '40s and has lived there most of his life. If anyone underscores the fact that a jazz artist doesn't need a Manhattan address to be legitimate -- a ludicrous notion that, sadly, still persists in some New York jazz circles -- it's
Wilson. So where does the title
New York, New Sound come from? The veteran arranger/bandleader recorded
New York, New Sound during a visit to the Big Apple, where he oversees a big band that boasts heavyweight soloists like
Clark Terry (trumpet, flugelhorn),
Eddie Henderson (trumpet),
Jimmy Heath (tenor sax),
Frank Wess (tenor sax), and
Kenny Barron (piano).
Wilson was 85 when
New York, New Sound (which was produced by
the Crusaders'
Stix Hooper) came out in August 2003, and even though he doesn't actually play any instruments on this album, his arranging/bandleading style is distinctively
Gerald Wilson. Whether the orchestra is embracing
Wilson's own compositions (which dominate the session) or arrangements of
John Coltrane's "Equinox" and
Miles Davis' "Milestones,"
Wilson's musical personality is very much in evidence -- and his personality is that of an arranger/bandleader, not a hotshot soloist.
Wilson prefers to leave the soloing to other people, which is something he has long had in common with
Duke Ellington. Although
the Duke was a fine pianist, he never saw himself that way --
Ellington often asserted that his band was his "instrument," and
Wilson brings a similar mentality to this solid addition to his catalog. ~ Alex Henderson