Label: Whirlwind Recordings, 2022
Personnel - Will Vinson: alto saxophone; Matt Penman: double bass; Eric Harland: drums + guest Melissa Aldana: tenor saxophone (#3,6).
English-born, New York-based saxophonist Will Vinson embraces an adventurous mind-set for Tripwire, his third outing on the Whirlwind label, following Four Forty One and Rio Grande. The new record consists of striking originals and exceptional interpretations of standards, and features the saxophonist actively backed by bassist Matt Penman, a regular collaborator, and drummer Eric Harland, his workmate in trumpeter Alex Sipiagin’s jazz units.
Chilean saxophonist Melissa Aldana joins them for two tracks, one of them being “Things”, a free take on Jerome Kern’s “All the Things You Are” (including that wonderful intro by mighty boppers Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie), where the two musicians at the front exchange playful lines and push each other to inspired heights. The other piece she participates in is the Vinson-penned closer, “Resting Jazz Face”, a freewheeling, alternatively tense, and risk-taking adventure.
The leadoff track, “Tripwire”, is an undeniable highlight and burns with energy from the very start. Its frenzy rhythm emerges with triplet agitation, and there are well-calibrated solos by Vinson, who infuses wide-ranging figures and effectively measured intervals, and Penman, who shows he can be a spellbinding storyteller. “Fable” demonstrates that the saxist is not afraid to experiment as he overdubs saxophone layers for a looping crossover jazz driven with ambience, modulation and a septuple time feel.
Two incredibly soothing jazz ballads taken from the Great American Songbook are delivered with heart and soul by the trio. Count Basie’s “Blue and Sentimental” establishes right away that Vinson knows the tradition like the back of his hand. While he speaks frankly by dint of a genuine idiom, Harland is subtly elusive in his brushed exchanges, making it even catchier through contrast. The other standard is “For All We Know”, a song popularized by Hal Kemp in the ‘30s and tackled by iconic singers such as Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington. Tripwire is a well-paced set that showcases Vinson's splendid artistry.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Tripwire ► 02 - Blue and Sentimental ► 06 - Resting Jazz Face