Matt Wilson

Drummer Matt Wilson's 11th studio album, 2014's Gathering Call, finds the enthusiastic jazz bandleader teaming up with pianist John Medeski. Here, Wilson and Medeski are joined by several equally creative and left-of-center sidemen in cornet player Kirk Knuffke, saxophonist Jeff Lederer, and bassist Chris Lightcap. Perhaps not surprisingly, Gathering Call is a jubilant, unhinged affair featuring songs that showcase the ensemble's knack for energetic, bop-influenced compositions that constantly flirt with the skronk and meandering improvisational style of avant-garde jazz without ever going completely atonal.

This stuff really swings and Wilson propels the band through each song with his characteristic sense of humor and love of group interplay. Ultimately Gathering Call is a joy to hear.

PERSONNEL:

JEFF LEDERER, tenor & soprano sax
KIRK KNUFFKE, cornet
CHRIS LIGHTCAP, bass
MATT WILSON, drums

Plus:
JOHN MEDESKI, piano

Recorded at Maggie's Farm, January 29, 2013.

TRACKS:

01. Main Stem
02. Some Assembly Required
03. Dancing Waters
04. Get over, Get off and Get On
05. Barack Obama
06. Gathering Call
07. You Dirty Dog
08. Hope (For the Cause)
09. Dreamscape
10. How Ya Going?
11. If I Were a Boy
12. Pumpkin's Delight
13. Juanita