Matt Wilson © Andrea Canter

Matt Wilson and Terrel Stafford © Andrea Canter

Wilson’s accomplished bandmates—Terrel Stafford (trumpet and flugelhorn), Gary Versace (piano, Hammond B-3 and accordion), and Dennis Irwin (bass and clarinet)take his roadmap and give the journey their own unique twists. “A band like this allows the music to go places and courageously goes along for the ride,” says Wilson in his liner notes. “While the destinations are of importance, how we get there is often what’s most rewarding. Smooth roads, bumpy roads, beautiful landscapes, weird detours and nice surprises all combine here for The Scenic Route.” The element of surprise is due in part to Wilson’s laissez faire approach to organizing the recording. “I try not plan the CD out in advance. I do make choices re: tempos, solo orders, lengths of tunes to some extent, but I find that hearing the tunes and moving them around will allow the order. Whew, luckily it makes some sort of sense!”

In addition to the multi-instrumental talents of his cohorts, Wilson adds background vocals to two tracks, the effecting fusion of Donald Ayler’s “Our Prayer” with John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” on the final track, and on his own “Feel the Sway” which lends the name to the singing “Swayettes.” The integration of voice with instrumentals is not a new concept to Wilson, who featured Curtis Stigers singing “There Comes a Time” on the previous Arts and Crafts release, Wake Up (to What’s Happening); Ned Sublette sang the title track on the Matt Wilson Quartet’s Going Once, Going Twice and Wilson notes that this recording also “features a vocal improv as a hidden track with me and Lee Konitz. We love to sing.” Vocals figure in his future plans as well, as in his Chamber Music Society of America “New Works” project of compositions based on the poems of fellow Knoxville, IL native Carl Sandburg, featuring singer Dawn Thomson.

Dennis Irwin © Andrea Canter

Wilson dedicates The Scenic Route, and particularly the original composition, “In Touch With Dewey,” to long-time mentor, the late Dewey Redman: “Dewey was a special musician whose sound and openness to all kinds of music made playing with him a treat. He was an incredible man and I loved him dearly.” Additional original tunes include “25 Years of Rootabagas,” “Feel the Sway,” and the title track.

The Scenic Route journeys through ten stops, none exceeding 7 ½ minutes, a couple under four, never exceeding the flow of ideas, the attention span of the listener, or the message. The title track introduces the itinerary with Irwin’s fast-paced bass, while Stafford’s muted trumpet sails over Versace’s B-3. Organ chords gurgle while Wilson engages in his signature high-energy pulse throughout the track. Stafford in particular is delightfully sassy, with growls punctuating his warbling. Versace engages midway in some sonic gymnastics that suggest whistles and other extraterrestrial woodwinds while Wilson rattles away on the drumkit, Stafford whining and wahwahing a very funky beginning.

Monk’s “I See” is presented as a swinging, angular ode recalling an earlier era of bebop and blues. There is a big band feel despite the quartet format, and Irwin keeps the travelers bouncing along while Wilson fills in with soft cymbal crashes and punctuations. On piano, Versace does Monk proud with his snaky lines and swinging acrobatics. Irwin introduces a brief debate with Wilson, his basslines twisting as much as Versace’s; Wilson throughout and especially on the outchorus sounds as much like a horn soloist as does Stafford.

Gary Versace © Andrea Canter

Honoring the much maligned tuber’s festival in Illinois, Wilson gives his “25 Years of Rootabagas” a down-home, rural prairie vibe. And the drummer can write melodies with the best of them, this one now my nominee for the single most gorgeous trumpet (or maybe flugelhorn here) solo in modern jazz, admittedly with stiff competition from Hugh Ragin’s rendition of “Easy Living.” The longest track with the feel of a slow dance from a 50s ballroom, you can even imagine the flickering of the spinning mirror globe, all enhanced by the low-key comping of Versace on B-3 and Wilson’s featherlight brushes. Versace comes in at the bridge with an equally appealing, melodic interlude, the keys sounding strummed and plucked, or even as if hit with a soft mallet head; a delicate descending figure shudders as if bouncing down a corrugated rail, while Stafford adds a touch of vibrato crackle on trumpet. Dissolving into a quietly wailing blues verse, Wilson slowly rattles and taps over the sustained tones of the B-3, the hymnal ending a masterful demonstration of subtle rhythmic leadership.

Irwin (again) provides a melodic intro with an ostinato refrain on “Feel the Sway” before Stafford’s muted trumpet sounds the catchy soulful theme, twisting his lines like a snake charmer. The background vocals from the Swayettes give this track a close-to-R&B flavor. As Stafford casts off the mute, Wilson ramps up his efforts and now it becomes a soul jazz party until Irwin returns with his ostinato in front, muted trumpet and vocals taking it out.

Ornette Coleman’s “Rejoicing” features the multilayered tapestry of Versace’s piano and the urgent rumbling of Irwin’s bass sliding into the frenetic figures painted by Wilson. Rising above it all, Stafford turns arabesques and spins on trumpet. Pat Metheny’s “The Bat” begins at a sacred pace with majestic flugelhorn and church-like organ; yet Versace clarifies that this a country church, not a cathedral, increasing the complexity of his runs. Stafford returns to the fore blowing hollow and sacred text, while the slow walk of the bass becomes more prominent. Wilson adds some ethereal touches with his cymbals, the sustained tones falling in soft sheer sheets.

Paying homage to yet another legend, Wilson clatters the intro to his “In Touch With Dewey,” while Stafford and Versace (on piano) in speak in unison. After the opening prelude, Irwin comes bounding in to lay a foundation for Stafford’s slightly off quadrant solo, sending up a brief pattern with seemingly infinite retracings. Irwin provides an elongated solo with deep dark lines, followed by Versace now on a bubbling B-3 while Wilson produces a percussion chant. Stafford returns to his quirky line but he seems like a straightman in the presence of Versace, who moves from wahwah to cackle to rumble. The great improviser Dewey Redman would love this one.

Terrel Stafford © Andrea Canter

From another great of an earlier generation, “Little B’s Poem” by Bobby Hutcherson features Versace’s elegant and feathery piano. Irwin has the more somber task, but this takes on a brighter tone as the music moves along, thanks to Stafford’s muted trumpet that indeed takes us along a truly scenic route (complete with a phrase from “In Your Own Sweet Way?”)! With all awash in Wilson’s tinkling cymbals, Versace returns to a delicate piano solo to close the track.

The beautiful standard “Tenderly” gives Stafford yet another opportunity to reveal his warm and sweet side, playing over a strong bass line and faint percussion. After the first round trip, Versace adds a swirling B-3, while Stafford syncopates his line, giving it a spritely bounce—but briefly, this track goes barely 3’ and ends in a lovely cadenza and drum roll.

Wilson ends the recording by logically wedding Ayler’s “Our Prayer” with John’s Lennon’s anthem of the 60s, “Give Peace a Chance.” Irwin and Stafford engage in two-part harmony on clarinet and Trumpet, while Wilson rattles his strands of shells. The counter melody from Irwin takes on a human voice quality as it slowly builds to the Lennon chant, Versace adding his voice now on accordion, fluttering around the melodic line.Wilson increasingly ups the ante on percussion, while Stafford improvises in counterpoint to Irwin. A brief buzzing from Versace launches the Swayette’s vocal rendition, “Give Peace a Chance.” As Wilson’s percussion becomes more and more militaristic, the voices of both guys and Swayettes fade into the refrain of the accordion. When Arts and Crafts performs live, this closing features Wilson unsnapping the snare from its stand and marching through the audience, encouraging a group chant for peace.

The Scenic Route takes Arts and Crafts along a road that is less and less separated from the path of the Matt Wilson Quartet, despite the differences in instrumentation. Notes Wilson, “I feel both bands can explore all of the sonic vistas that we want, so I do not see any need, now especially, to make a marked difference between the two. I feel any band of mine should play whatever we want if it feels good!”

Given the joyous ride of The Scenic Route, whatever Matt wants feels good indeed!

After recording sessions with Dena DeRose and CD release gigs with the Bill Mays Trio, Matt Wilson and Arts & Crafts will return to touring in April with stops in Kansas and California. For full intinerary and further information, visit www.mattwilsonjazz.com