Anthony Wilson Trio - Our Gang

The Absolute Sound 2001 Golden Ear Award Winner for artistic and sonic excellence! 1995 Thelonoius Monk Competition Award Winner! Composer-arranger-bandleader and guitarist Anthony Wilson, the 32-year old son of big band maestro Gerald Wilson, is one of the most brilliant musicians working in the US jazz scene today. A recipient of the IAJE's Gil Evans Fellowship Award, Wilson's rich, fluid and easy going style, with it's seductive references to Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell, is much in evidence on his latest CD, Our Gang from the Groove Note label out of Los Angeles. Playing with a much pared down structure of guitar trio with organ and drums (his previous recordings have been with much larger outfits) gave Wilson the freedom to focus more on his own inventive and incomparable skills as soloist, and his close rapport with drummer Mark Ferber and organist Joe Bagg, with whom he has been playing with regularly for the last 2-3 years, pays off richly in this session. Wilson's previous three CDs for the Mama label received a great deal of critical and commercial recognition. The self-titled debut album hit number 1 on the Gavin charts and received a Grammy nomination in the Large Jazz Ensemble category in 1997. His second album Goat Hill Junket also achieved great success both critically and on radio while his third album released in 1999 features talents such as Jeff Clayton, Greg Ellis and Jack Nimitz all performing a suite commissioned by the IAJE. Wilson also received a Downbeat International Critics Poll award for Composer Deserving Wider Recognition in 2000. Wilson's newest effort is the culmination of all his most recent ideas, in both originals and standards, and this CD includes some stunning performances of standards like Chitlins Con Carne (By Kenny Burrell), I Want You - She's So Heavy (from Abbey Road), and Prelude To A Kiss (Strayhorn). The album also contains further evidence of Anthony Wilson's skill and talent as a composer as demonstrated by original compositions like Our Gang and Britta's Blues. The sterling back-up by Ferber and Bagg also deserves special mention with organist Bagg in particular exchanging great solos on the Hammond B-3 with Wilson. Recorded by the A-list team of producer Joe Harley (ECM, Enja) and Mike Ross (engineer) at Cello Studios in Hollywood, this remarkable session will serve not only to cement the much vaunted reputation established with the Mama CDs but will in fact greatly extend Wilson's high profile position as one jazz's finest talents. Musicians: Anthony Wilson, guitar Joe Bagg, Hammond B3 Mark Ferber, drums 1. Our Gang 2. Chitlins Con Carne 3. Britta's Blues 4. Time Flies 5. Road Trip 6. Luck be A Lady 7. I Want You (She's So Heavy) 8. Prelude To A Kiss. Product Reviews: "...a lush, plush, gorgeous-sounding album.... Anthony Wilson is an up and coming jazz guitar star" - Frank Doris, The Absolute Sound, Golden Ear Award 2001 Audiophile Audition, Best Jazz CDs of 2001 "His harmonic sophistication, technical control and sheer, suave elegance place him in the ranks of the major jazz guitarists...The production/engineering team of Joe Harley and Michael C. Ross have been responsible for some of the best sounding recordings ever made...the electric guitar and Hammond B-3 are capable of the subtlest sonorities and most tantalizing depths." - Thomas Conrad, Stereophile Magazine "The sound is of reference quality, but not in a showy, blockbuster way. The panoramic soundstage, high resolution, and overall sweetness make this recording sound very here, and the cymbals give away how special the sound is -- quick attack and long decay. This CD could pass for a 24/96 DVD, and it was recorded live to two track DSD..." - Marc Mickelson - Soundstage.com "...harmonic sophistication, technical control and sheer suave elegance place (Wilson) in the major ranks of jazz guitarists." - Thomas Conrad, Downbeat, 4 Stars! "Wilson is a fine, exceptionally fluid player" - Jim Ferguson, Jazz Times "A clever young cat who could become a jazz icon in the 21st century." -Ed Kopp/allaboutjazz.com "An easy swinging open-minded guitarist who offers a rich compelling sound." - Zan Stewart/LA Times "Wilson put on a spectacular display showing strong ties to the tradition of Wes Montgomery and Grant Green." - Bill Kohlhaase/LA Times "Goat Hill Junket" received a Grammy nomination in 1998. "Goat Hill Junket" and 1999's "Adult Themes" albums both received (5 Stars) from Downbeat in 1998 and 1999!