Goat Hill Junket recalls Anthony Wilson to the forefront of his nonet playing five new originals and three arrangements with memorable melodies and great ensemble textures. Wilson and his ensemble swing with the dynamics of older styles of jazz on songs that create their own melodic world. His resonant guitar leads on an innovative arrangement of "Here's That Rainy Day" and further compliments the standard with an impeccable array of younger and seasoned talent. With Jeff Ballard on drums, Jerry Dodgion on alto and Ted Nash on tenor, listeners are treated to Wilson's intense relationship with music as a composer, arranger and guitarist. Great horns and cool charts add attitude to Goat Hill Junket and give a spontaneous difference to the musical events presented by Wilson on his covers of "The Cherry Tree," and "It Has Happened to Me." Guest artist Bennie Wallace shines on his original composition which is part of Wilson's and Wallace's quartet repertory. "Georgia Waltz" spotlights Anthony Wilson's musical growth and firmly transplants his groove from roots deep in jazz heredity. Goat Hill Junket surpasses his 1997 debut and is an excellent CD with a tight, cohesive nonet that does it right every time. - Paula Edelstein / allmusic.com
Guitarist Anthony Wilson, whose debut was nominated last year for a Grammy Award, has neatly sidestepped the sophomore jinx on his latest release for the MAMA Foundation thanks to his creative writing and steadfast support from his New York-based sidemen. This one's in a somewhat funkier groove than Wilson's earlier effort with pianist Mike LeDonne playing Hammond B-3 on two selections ("W-2 Blues," Tadd Dameron's "Flossie Lou") and guest Bennie Wallace squealing like a disconcerted Texas tenor on "Stairway to the Stars" and his own composition, "It Has Happened to Me." When it comes to age, the 30-year-old Wilson is an equal-opportunity employer, blending old hands (Wallace, Art Baron, Jerry Dodgion, Ted Nash, Joe Temperley) and fresh young faces (LeDonne, John D'Earth, Danton Ballard, Jeff Bollard) in a consistently appetizing banquet for the ears. As befits the son of bandleader Gerald Wilson, Anthony is an accomplished songwriter, and each of his compositions for this session - "W-2 Blues,""The Cherry Tree,""Georgia Waltz" and "Hell's Belles" - is substantive and appealing. HIs arrangements also shimmer, especially the interesting treatment of "Here's That Rainy Day" whose melody is developed almost in fragments by the ensemble as Wilson and Nash (on tenor) solo and Ballard offers an Astaire-like "soft-shoe routine" with brushes. "Blues," which opens the set, includes straight-ahead picking by Wilson, Baron's assertive trombone solo and nice open trumpet by D'Earth. "Cherry Tree" is a melodic medium-tempo swinger that features Wilson, LeDonne and D'Earth again. "Georgia," which begins and ends as a waltz and shifts to straight 4/4 in midflight for fast-paced solos by Wilson and Nash (on alto), precedes the tango "Hell's Belles," which must have greatly pleased Anthony's dad, no slouch himself when it comes to writing in a Latin vein. Baron's muted trombone states the melody, and Wilson plays flamenco guitar before he and Baron solo in a more conventional mode. "Flossie Lou" is yet another highlight, its catchy bop-based tune punctuated by admirable solo work from Temperley (who sounds as though he may have been having a minor reed problem), LeDonne at the B-3, Wilson and Nash, this time on clarinet (where he might give even Buddy DeFranco a run for his money). While I mean no offense, I do find Wallace's note-hopping, over-the-top style singularly unappealing - although he fares marginally better on the ballad, "Stairway to the Stars" (in a sort of Lew Tabackin-like reading) than on "It Has Happened." Others, however, may consider Wallace's appearances an impassioned focal point. In either case, Goat Hill Junket, named for the block in Manhattan where young Wilson lived in the early '90s, is a clear winner, showing that sometimes you can indeed go home again to seize the palm. - Jack Bowers / allaboutjazz.com
Tracks
1. W-2 Blues (Anthony Wilson)
2. Here's That Rainy Day (Johnny Burke/James Van Heusen)
3. The Cherry Tree (Judy Collins/Traditional/Anthony Wilson)
4. It Has Happened To Me (Bennie Wallace/Bernie Wallace)
5. Georgia Waltz (George Krise/Anthony Wilson)
6. Hell's Belles (Anthony Wilson)
7. Flossie Lou (Tadd Dameron)
8. Stairway To The Stars (Matty Malneck/Mitchell Parish/Frank Signorelli)
DANTON BOLLER bass
JEFF BALLARD drums
ANTHONY WILSON guitar
MIKE LeDONNE piano, organ
JOE TEMPERLEY baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
BENNIE WALLACE tenor saxophone (4, 8)
ART BARON trombone
JOHN D'EARTH trumpet, flugelhorn
JERRY DODGION alto saxophone, clarinet, flute
TED NASH tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
Mama Records – MMF 1022