It's been five years since British expat Will Vinson released his debut as a leader, It's For You (2004), but the alto and soprano saxophonist has been anything but dormant. Promises, may have been a long time in coming, but it demonstrates Vinson's palpable growth as a player but also, and perhaps more importantly, as a writer. Vinson's playing continues down the road, his own voice is emerging more confidently on this quintet session that features other up-and-comers including Aaron Parks. Ever inventive, Parks solos with the kind of confident sense of construction that supports his increasing acclaim, while acting as an empathic rhythm section partner with bassist Orlando le Fleming and drummer Rodney Green (Ari Hoenig replaces Green on the staggered funk of "Philos O' Fur.") Vinson also enlists guitarist Lage Lund who represents the next wave of guitarists. Promises is a mainstream set of a decidedly modern bent, featuring eight Vinson compositions that lean largely to the acoustic and the complex. Lund isn't afraid to pull out the occasional electronic trick, including some looping and reverse attack throughout the ever-shifting "Adventures of Bagpuss". Even when Vinson moves into slower territory, it's hardly balladic, although it is lyrical in its own way. On "Rose Tint" he works again in tandem with Lund. Vinson's warm tone on alto, his main axe, smoothes out the occasional jagged edges of his improvised lines while le Fleming and Green, ever empathic, maintain a smooth as silk cushion that's augmented by Parks' atmospheric voicings. With increased confidence as a player and writer, hopefully Vinson won't have to wait another five years to follow up to this fine album of modernistic mainstream jazz. ~ Extract by John Kelman, AAJ.
Nineteen-Eight Records, 19/8
1007, 2008
Recorded 22nd December, 2006
at Legacy Recording Studios, New York City
Musicians:
Will Vinson - Alto &
Soprano Saxophones
Lage Lund - Guitar
Aaron Parks - Piano
Orlando Le Fleming - Bass
Rodney Green - Drums
(#1,2,4-8)
Ari Hoenig - Drums (#3)
Tracks:
1. Albemarle (8:36)
2. Believer (6:16)
3. Philos O' Fur (5:44)
4. Rose Tint (6:37)
5. Adventures Of Bagpuss
(8:31)
6. Promises (7:52)
7. Lagonic (5:44)
8. Leafy (7:02)
All Compositions by Will Vinson
Total Time: 56:22
Credits:
Producer, Mixing - Will
Vinson
Engineer, Mixing - Alex
Venguer
Mastering - Michael
Perez-Cisneros
Design - Rachel Gutek
Photography - Jessie Simmons
Photography [Inside] -
Alexandros Lambrovasilis
