Search - Matt Wilson :: Smile

Matt Wilson has come a long way in a short time, being heralded one of the brightest lights of the new brigade by all the prognosticators of repute, and all in just a scant two years. He's joined here by a venerable supporting crew, featuring Andrew D'Angelo (alto, bass clarinet), Joel Frahm (tenor and soprano sax), and Yosuke Inoue (acoustic and electric bass). The group rips through an invigorating mix of originals and "standards"--only these standards are slightly left-of-center in their own right (despite the sterling reputations of their original purveyors): Coltrane's "Grand Central" and Monk's "Boo Boo's Birthday" are mutated slightly (including a sardonic reference to "Take Five" in the latter). Meanwhile there's a version of "Strangers in the Night" that, while falling short of the pathos David S. Ware evoked on a similar tangling of "The Way We Were," comes from the same realm of postmodern redefinition. Like a lot of new modern jazz, Wilson seems to be influenced by ideas first wrought by the Art Ensemble, Miles Davis, and Anthony Braxton, among others. These influences, and others, are put to good use on the original compositions: Wilson's own "Wooden Eye" sounds like one of Albert Ayler's parade-type two-steps (with similar in-out movements from Frahm). Meanwhile, on D'Angelo's "Big Butt," Wilson takes propulsive rim shots throughout, and the whole band performs with a bashing intensity. "Making Babies" has the group doing a collective count-off and coming off as perhaps a bit too much the pranksters because of it. Similarly, on "Go Team Go" (which, as its name implies, is somewhat of a free-for-all) Frahm actually blows a cavalry call at one point. In the hands of lesser men, this type of cheeky humor might prove annoying, but Wilson and crew display a vibrancy that never comes off as self-serving. This band is for real. --Joe S. Harrington