Vital Spark : A Love Letter to the Composer Kenny Wheeler with Dave Holland, Norma Winstone and Paull Churchill and the LVP

Dave Holland, Norma Winstone and Paul Churchill and the London Voice Project: Vital Spark: The Kenny Wheeler Music- Edition Records

The trumpeter/composer Kenny Wheeler, who passed away in 2014, has left an indelible mark on the world of music. Wheeler was a Toronto born Canadian musician who studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music before relocating to Britain in 1952. There he worked with saxophone/composer John Dankworth in his orchestra from 1959 through 1965. Wheeler also studied composition with both Richard Bennett and Bill Russo in the early sixties. Wheeler was always interested in both performing with and composing/arranging for large jazz groups, and his first recording under his own name, Windmill Tilter, was recorded back in 1969 with Dankworth’s orchestra, although it wasn’t released until 2010.

In mid-sixties and into the early seventies, Wheeler became influenced by the free improvisational movement in England that found him playing with such progressive artists as saxophonist Evan Parker, guitarist Derek Bailey, drummer John Stevens and multi-reedist John Surman in Britain, and he joined American saxophonist/composer Anthony Braxton Quartet from 1971-1976.

Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone and John Taylor

Wheeler became a member of a chamber jazz group, Azimuth, from 1977 through 2000, where he met the pianist John Taylor and his then wife vocalist Norma Winstone. His relationship with the superb bassist Dave Holland dates back from their days in the vibrant London jazz scene of the nineteen-sixties. Holland’s first recording with Wheeler was on the trumpeter’s initial release Windmill Tilter, but his inclusion in Wheeler’s seminal album Gnu High, one that featured pianist Keith Jarrett, guitarist Bill Frisell, and drummer Jack DeJohnette from 1975, is perhaps the most acclaimed.

Norma Winstone and Dave Holland (photo credit unknown)

Vital Spark is a collection of some of Wheeler’s final compositions, some of which have never been recorded previously. This collaboration between three of Wheeler admiring alumni, the bassist Dave Holland , the vocalist Norma Winstone, and Paul Churchill, The Musical Director of the London Voice Project is a beautiful love letter to the composer. Churchill was a conductor of Kenny Wheeler’s Big Band and worked with Wheeler on the release of Mirrors from 2007. The recipient of many of these compositions from Wheeler over a period of several years before assembling, Churchill arranged them and eventually enlisted Holland and Winstone to make this project come to fruition. Besides manning the LVP, which is one of the United Kingdom’s leading contemporary vocal ensembles, Churchill was, for nearly fifteen years, the British accompanist of the vocalist Mark Murphy . 

Paul Churchill (photo credit unknown)

Vital Spark is a collection of nine compositions predominantly based on poetry and represent a personal, collaborative reinterpretation of Wheeler’s work maintaining the composer’s character and intention. Of the nine songs chosen for this album, my research found only “Inner Traces,” having been previously recorded.

Of the remaining Wheeler compositions, the talented lyricist Winstone provided new lyrics for “Inner Traces,” “Vital Spark,” and “These are the Things We Trust.” The remaining six compositions were inspired and provided with lyrics drawn from some of Wheeler's favorite poets.

“Will You Walk a Little Faster” is based on Lewis Caroll’s “The Mock Turtle’s Song” from his Alice in Wonderland. The poet Stevie Smith’s provides lyrics for “Not Waving but Drowning” and “Heavenly City.” Langston Hughes is the inspiration and provides lyrics for the composition “Jazzonia.” William Blake’s” Infant Joy” provides both lyrics and a theme for that composition, and French-Canadian Emile Nelligan’s “Fruite D’Enfance” or “Fruit of Childhood” is the source of both the lyrics and the inspiration of that Wheeler composition. 

The album is a deft unification of jazz ensemble work provided by Holland’s group- pianist Nikki Iles, Mark Lockheart’s tenor and soprano saxophone work, John Parricelli’s guitar, James Maddren’s drums and Holland’s resonate bass along with Norma Winstone’s beguiling voice. The vocal chorale work was skillfully arranged and directed by Paul Churchill and included the eight Soprano, nine Alto, four Tenor and four Bass voices of The London Voice Project.

The London Voice Project (photo credit by Karen Hatch)

The music opens with “Inner Traces” and features an opening repeating piano lines by Nikki Iles, the transcendent voice and lyrics of Norma Winstone, and accompanied by the soaring voices of the choir. Holland provides a deeply resonant pizzicato bass solo that is harmonized by the choir’s angelic-like, homophonic texture, before the music introduces a moving tenor saxophone solo by Mark Lockheart. It is the splendid voices of the choir that make this one feel like you have been transported to another world.

James Maddren’s wonderfully syncopated drum work opens this playful Lewis Carroll piece “Will You Walk a Little Faster” before Holland’s bass offers his own heart-like pulse. This features some jubilant vocalese from Winstone, as she navigates this chicanery-like path of Wheeler’s spirited music. Lockheart’s soprano soars like a free bird. Holland and Maddren anchor the buoyant beat, and the choir voices drape the music with a repeating verse that just accentuates the demand for acceleration that the lyrics demand. A joyful aural delight.

Wheeler’s fondness of the work of English poet Stevie Smith becomes apparent as we find two compositions here that he chooses to bring to musical life. The plaintive “Not Waving but Drowning,” features some expansive guitar work by John Parricelli, Winstone’s beautiful voice and Lockheart’s windborne soprano work.

Wheeler’s composition of Smith's “Heavenly City” is treated with a repeating riff that modulates as Winstone’s wordless vocalizing creates the music’s purposeful saunter. Holland’s bass prominently sets the pace; Iles’ piano work accompanies brilliantly. Lockheart’s tenor adds some emotion grit and guitarist Parricelli offers a more aerial approach over the choir’s powerful vocalizing.

Langston Hughes “Jazzonia” features Holland’s a movingly reverent bass solo, as the choir carries the hymn-like feel for this one. Iles piano work is especially emotive and Lockheart’s burnished tenor sound resonates with earnestness.

“Fuite D’Enfance” finds Winstone’s crystalline voice taking over this staccato piece, as Holland and Maddren carry the rhythmic load. Parricelli’s guitar provides an acoustic guitar solo of note, and Iles piano work has a distinctive melodicism to be enjoyed. Maddren’s drum work at the coda is rewardingly explosive. 

The album’s title cut is “Vital Spark”, and it is notably majestic. The music swells as the choir sets the stage before the ensemble is led by Holland’s probing bass. Winstone’s limpid voice sings her lyrics with such authority and conviction. Holland offers a facile and powerful pizzicato solo that is deftly accompanied by Iles. Her solo here offers some of  the best of her work on the album. The choir’s unified voices just sweep you away with their moving harmonies.

William Blake’s “Infant Joy,” a song from the view of a newly born baby, comes alive with Holland’s opening bass lines and Winstone’s evocative voice. The choir hovers in the background as Winstone's voice and Lockheart’s tenor spell out the melody. Parricelli’s guitar provides an otherworldly post natal look before the group and choir reach an apex of realization and awareness that spells pure joy. “Sweet joy befall thee!” 

The final composition is Wheeler’s “These are the Things We Trust” with lyrics by Winstone and it is a fitting swan song for the maestro. Opening with a solemn piano intro by Ile’s. Winstone’s lyrics speak “Haunting sounds that filled my life and made their mark on me, Could I rewind to things left behind?” and “Cruel is the light that descends into the night, where all of our dreams are dust. Some things remain untouched by the rain and these are the things we trust.” The music just resonates with a feeling that these three artists set out to pay homage to Wheeler whose work meant so much to them and wanted to truly respect and honor his legacy. Vital Spark certainly attains that goal  successfully and in spades.

Handmade : Emilio Solla's Tribute to Craft and it's Importance to Human Connection

 

Emilio Solla and La Inestable De Brooklyn-Handmade-Club Disco Records

The Grammy award winning, Argentina-born pianist/composer Emilio Solla and his group La Inestable De Brooklyn, releases his latest Handmade of March 13, 2026. Solla is this era’s eminent practitioner of creating modern music. He skillfully combines elements of Tango, Milonga, Latin Folk and Jazz sensibilities into its own beguiling style and Handmade delivers that in spades.

For those not up to speed on Solla’s previous work, Solla was educated in Argentina receiving his degree in Classical Piano at the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires. He later received a master’s in jazz composition from the Aaron Copland School of Music in New York, eventually relocating first to Barcelona in Spain in 1996 and later to New York in 2006 where he now resides. He has worked with notable jazz musicians like Billy Hart, Paquito Rivera and Donny McCaslin and leads his own NY-based quintet Bien Sur!. Solla has been an active composer in chamber and symphonic music with such notable projects as Suite Piazzollana, a modern Tango/jazz inspired suite that is a homage to the guitar icon Astor Piazzolla. He released his 17-piece big band recording Puertos: Music from International Waters in 2019 and the album won a Latin Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2020. In 2023 he received praise for his arrangements and orchestrations for his collaboration with Paquito D’Rivera titled Ritmo-The Chick Corea Symphony Tribute.  

Emilio Solla (photo credit unknown)

Handmade is a beautiful addition to this talented composer’s discography. The album is a tribute to craft, the art of working with your mind and hands. Given the rapid changes in the technologies that seem to alter almost every way we work and communicate, it is fitting that an artist like Solla recognizes that our work or our art,  a product of our creativity and hard achieved skill, is honestly realized by our own hands, our own voices, our own instruments and even in the case of dance, our feet. As such it needs to be honored and preserved to maintain the essential human connection we need to effectively communicate ideas. I believe Solla’s message here is that when technologies like robotic machines or AI can mimic our creativity and communicate soulless information or algorithmic generated art then we have lost something that we cannot afford to lose.

Solla’s La Inestable De Brooklyn, which loosely translates fittingly as The Unpredictable from Brooklyn, is made up of some top-tier musicians from NY.  The nonet includes Solla on piano; Tim Aracost on tenor saxophone , clarinet and bass clarinet; Sara Caswell is on violin; Edward Perez mans the double bass; Rogério Boccato provides drum work and percussion; Mike Fahie is on trombone; Rodolfo Zaneti is on bandoneon; David Smith plays trumpet and flugelhorn; Alejandro Avilés can be heard on soprano and alto saxophone, and flute; Facundo Colman provides percussion on track 2; and the vocal of Sofia Tosello on track 9.

Emilio Solla and La Inestable De Brooklyn

Solla opens the album with the third part of his “Suite de los Abrazo”- Bodegon Canibal or “Suite of Hugs or Embraces.”  He comments on his album notes that the three-piece suite should not be thought of as being required to be heard in a particular sequence and so he suggests that listeners might mix and match the suites. On the third suite, a gorgeous piece that demonstrates Solla’s creative use of the band’s diverse tonal basket, we hear Boccato’s drum and percussive work set the infective beat.  Armacost’s bass clarinet provides an unusual woody, tonal bass line before the remaining section adds the brass and woodwind color.  Solla’s piano adds sparse accents and Perez ‘s bass beautifully maintains the rhythm with Boccato. Avilés alto soars and then the total section creates a cacophonic but joyful canvas of color that includes inspired work by Armacost, Aviles, Smith, and Fahie. Caswell and Zanetti weave their two instruments in a particularly sympathetic way adding their tones as Solla’s arrangement swells with excitement and splendor. Wonderful.

The album continues with a homage to the compositions of Joni Mitchell. Solla starts out with a repeating piano line that is accented by Zanetti’s warm bandoneon and sweet Caswell’s violin. Solla skillfully orchestrates the instruments that he has available to him like an artist painting a picture and the results are gorgeous, but despite his reference to having referenced some of Mitchell’s compositions in this piece, I cannot tell which ones he used for the inspiration. Needless to say the man has a wellspring of imagination.

The second part of the suite” Suite do los Abrazo” is subtitled “Milonga MUtante” and is a piece that was inspired during the Covid pandemic.  Like most of Solla’s work, this piece tells a story, this one musically recreating the feel of being in an Emergency Room in the early days of the pandemic. Boccato’s drum work is evocative of the coming urgency. Solla uses the tango briefly before the group creates the hectic, frazzled and unsettling experience of being in that scary scene. Mike Fahie’s trombone provides an expressive solo, a voice that seems to be expressing his bewilder, lonely feel. The rest of the group adds to the cacophonic, unfettered frenzy of being there.

“Para el Agua” or “For the Water” was originally written as a solo piano piece by Solla. Here he arranges the music for the larger chamber group. Sara Caswell’ s violin lays out the opening lines over Boccato’s trap cadenced work and Solla’s ostinato piano work. Smith’s trumpet and Armacost’s bass clarinet and Zanetti’s bandoneon all add to the mix before Solla takes his most melodically gorgeous and harmonically inventive piano solo of the album. The arrangement bustles with tonal ideas that make this one stand out.

The final piece of the suite is subtitled “The Loss” and according to the liner notes was inspired by poetry. Solla’s piano spells out t moving ballad beautifully.  The group sets up the tension, the section swelling to evoke the coming loss. Edward Perez’s double bass offers a most facile and imaginative pizzicato solo that conjures up personal loss here. Perez is accompanied by intuitive violin work by Caswell and some emotive bandoneon work by Zanetti that sets the sorrowful mood perfectly

Solla is a master of the new tango and here he seems to be evoking the progressiveness of Miles Davis approach to music by naming this “Miles Tango.” This is not your father’s tango. Solla take the dance form and enlivens it with some of his most searching piano work on the album. The brass section wails- the rhythm section adds some funk bass and drum lines- Smith’s muted trumpet soars through the ozone. Solla creates some complex lines for the group to navigate as a unit and they do so precisely until the abrupt stop at the coda.

“Bird Song” is one of the most sonically inventive of the Solla’s songs, in no small part due to Sara Caswell’s violin eerily creating bird sounds that work so well with this composition. The music was commissioned by a chamber music ensemble from San Antonio, Texas. Solla envisioned a bird that flew easily between Mexico and Texas at the border, unencumbered by customs or immigration rules. Not only was the bird free, but this avian creature could also dance to Solla’s wonderful folk-inspired music. The group was a cornucopia of sounds weaving a magical environment- flutes, trumpets, woodwinds, piano, bandoneon- that created a splendid background for Caswell’s precocious bird. This cinematic piece is aural delight.

“La Carta” (The Letter) opens with a moving interaction between Caswell’s violin and Solla’s repeating piano lines. In the notes, Solla acknowledges that having been involved in the Ritmo project, where he orchestrated some of the great Chick Corea’s music, indelibly had an impact on his own playing. Solla confess that the piano ostinato on this one could easily have been inspired by Corea’s own “Children’s Song.” No matter what influences, here Solla’s music is a heartfelt, wordless letter that blossoms like a flower burgeoning to the warm light of the sun. The orchestration is gorgeous, as Solla blends the sounds of violin, clarinet, bass clarinet, bowed bass, and subtle percussive accents to his ringing, monotone piano lines.  After hearing this once, it’s almost impossible for the listener not to play it back multiple times to absorb the artistry of this gem of music making.

The final cut on the album is the only composition that uses voice as one of its elements. “De Viento y de Sal” or Of Wind and of Salt is perhaps the most traditional chamber music piece on the album and it features the gorgeously expressive voice of the Argentinian singer Sofia Tasello. The music is implemented by the sounds of Caswell violin and Zanetti’s wonderful Bandoneon. Tasello and the band deliver a fitting coda to this beautiful album.

Emilio Solla’s Handmade is truly an important album that revels in story-telling, marvels in astute arrangements, and embraces the listener in emotive feelings. It utilizes a band of talented and sympathetic musicians that bring the composer’s vision to life. As the composer says, the music is like a suite of a big hug or embrace!"   

Jack West and Walter Strauss Defy Classification with "Guitars of Life"

Jack West and Walter Strauss-Guitars of Life-Ota records

 

Acoustic guitar virtuosity of another color has been introduced to me with the distinctive acoustic album released in late January on Ota records. The duo album is titled Guitars on Life and features Bay Area based Jack West and his foil on this album, Walter Strauss. West has created his own following by creating a unique groove-centric acoustic guitar style. He utilizes his skillful abilities to create both bass and percussive effects simultaneously, as he plays his acoustic steel string guitar. Strauss, is another talented California based guitarist, who has built a reputation by incorporating Americana and interweaving it with African inspired rhythmic elements. For lovers of pure, unadulterated, acoustic magic, these two guys create a surprisingly satisfying set of music that exudes joy, creativity and is recorded live with no overdubs.

The album includes eight songs, the cover Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish”; all others co-composed by West and Strauss “More Guitars”, “Youth”, “Across the Bardo”, and “New Way Up; Double Bounce”, “Follow the Water Down”, and “OO”.

Jack West and Walter Strauss photo by Mitch Tobias

The music is played with an exuberance that cannot be staged. There is no pyrotechnics or electronic enhancements here, the music just flows out of these two accomplished guitarists. West is a virtual rhythm section onto himself, incorporating bass lines, percussive accompaniment and fluid slide work. Strauss’s facile finger picking is seamless and almost creates its own chant-like drone at times. You will undoubtedly find your own favorites on this fine album, but for me the rhythmically driven opener “More Guitars” provided a real chance to enjoy some intuitive interaction on display by these two. The two offer a unique take on Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” that reimagines this classic in a way that is retains the song’s soul while still intimate by using this hybrid Americana approach. 

Strauss’s ostinato driven “Double Bounce” has a real down-home funk to it. Feel your body start to absorb the groove. West’s combined bass-line and percussive rhythmic approach drives this one, and some fine finger picked lines by Strauss makes this one irresistible.

West’s “Across the Bardo” is another favorite, and  opens with Strauss’s drone-like finger picking as West’s glass slide work brings you to a new place. The music weaves elements of the blues, folk-inspired percussive rhythms, Americana, and a feel that recalls some of Irish folk music’s pathos.

The music of Guitars on Life certainly is hard to classify and why should we have to label it? There is a lot here to enjoy. These two draw from multiple inspirations, and when they mix them all together we get a very well performed set of music that has all the elements of what makes creative music so vibrant, exciting, and unpredictable.

Bassist/Composer Martin Wind Offers Some Beautiful Music on "STARS"

 

Martin Wind: STARS: Newvelle Records

The bassist Martin Wind has long been on my radar as one of the more inventive and melodic bass players around. I’ve seen him perform live with multi-reedist master Scott Robinson several years back and reviewed several of his past albums that have shown the breadth and depth of this man’s musicality. I had the opportunity to interview Wind back in 2014 with the release of his fabulous album Turn Out the Stars which you can read here. 

Wind’s latest release Stars is on Newvelle Records, a label that is celebrating its tenth-year anniversary this year. The album is a joyful and sonorous studio album that became available on January 30, 2026, and features Wind’s upright bass paired with a star-studded band that includes the master pianist Kenny Barron, the mellifluous clarinet of Anat Cohen and the creative drum work of Matt Wilson.

Matt Wilson, Anat Cohen, Martin Wind and Kenny Barron (photo credit unknown)

The fifty-eight-year-old Wind was born in Flensburg, Germany. He studied orchestral bass at the Music Conservatory at Cologne and received a Master’s in Jazz Performance and Composition at the Music Conservatory in Cologne.  Wind moved to New York in 1995, won third in the Thelonious Monk Bass Competition in Washington, D.C. and continued studies with Mike Richmond, Jim McNeely, Kenny Werner and Mike Holober to name a few.  The bassist has been a member of the faculty at New York University since 1997 and has been a faculty member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in Germany. He continues with   on- going musical relationships with European artists like Belgian guitar ace Philip Catherine, Dutch trumpeter Ack van Rooyen and German guitarist Ulf Meyer. With over fifteen albums that he has released as both a leader and co-leader, it is always worth following the progression of this man’s prolific work.  

Stars opens up with the sauntering “Passing Through,” in some ways the perfect composition that sets the tone and purpose that Wind has in mind when recording this album. The album is reflective, evokes memories from the bassist’s experiences as a musician, and has a quiet sense of elegant melodicism. “Passing Through” is a composition from the bassist/composer Aaron Bell. Bell was a one-time Ellington bassist and an inspiration. The music is deceptively simple, clear and narrative without being obvious. This newly assembled group reveals just how at ease they work together, allowing the music to gently unfold and wrap you with a blanket of joy. Cohen’s clarinet is warm, woody and provocative. Barron’s piano can at times evoke a down and dirty bluesy sense, but the man also has an undeniably elegant feel and a deep well of creativity to draw upon. Wilson’s drum kit is always joyful, like a toy box radiating bliss, and Wind’s warm pizzicato bass lines guide the leisurely shuffle expertly. Clearly this is Wind’s beautiful homage to a felloe player like Bell and a tip of his hat to the Ellingtonian era. Not to mention, this is a hell of a composition that is strangely seldom heard,

Duke Ellington and Aaron Bell (photo credit unknown)

“Life” is presumably a ballad composed by the leader Wind. It features some beautiful three-way improvisational lines by Cohen, Barron and Wind that weave themselves like sinewy silk threads into a melodic tapestry.

The album continues with “Black Butterfly,” a Duke Ellington composition that is played in a jazz-chamber ballad form. It features the vocal-like sound of Cohen’s resonating clarinet, and the heartbeat-like bass solo by Wind that glows with warmth and elegance. Barron’s accompaniment is superb, as Wilson keeps the pace with subtle ingenuity. The music is reminiscent of a simpler, relaxed, more elegant time.

“Moody” is a gentle, contemplative Wind composition. Lead by Cohen’s expressive clarinet's tubular sound and some dynamic counterpoint bass work by Wind, the music is ethereal. Hanging in the air like a reflective mood, not melancholic but deep in thought and reverend.

Wind gives a nod to the importance of bebop to the canon of music. Here he chooses Bud Powell’s iconic “Wail,” which was first heard on his album The Amazing Bud Powell from 1951. Powell had the lead horns of the powerful tenor of Sonny Rollins and Fats Navarro’s incendiary trumpet to trade ideas on this quick paced gem. Here Martin and Cohen lay out the challenging, circuitous lines of the melody concurrently with impeccable skill, but at a decidedly more relaxed attack. Wind shows that no matter how complex the music may be, it can be effectively entertaining and interesting at any pace if the core of the music’s message is retained by the artists presenting it.  Wind and mates let the music flow with satin smoothness and facility, and the results are rewarding. Kenny Barron’s piano work here is a master class of modern interpretation. Barron is a true descendant that preserves some of the history of jazz music in every note he plays.

Wind opens “The Feel of the Jazz,” another Ellington composition (also credited are Bobby Troup and Geore T. Simon), with an extended, plucky bass entre that hums with joy and creativity. The original release of this song was on Duke Ellington and John Coltrane from 1963 and included the rhythm section of  Aaron Bell on bass and drummer Sam Woodward. When Cohen’s clarinet enters this one, there is a sense of history meeting modernity. Barron’s piano interacts with Cohen’s clarinet as the song progresses and the two pros meld notes so easily at times with ease and familiarity that makes it look effortless.

“Pra Diza e a Deus” is a beautiful ballad composed by the Brazilian composers Edú Lobo and Torquato Neto. It was made popular by Sergio Mendez and Brasil ’66 from their album Look Around from 1967.  The English title of this song is “To Say Goodbye” and anyone who has heard this version can’t forget the sad voice of Sergio Mendes and beguiling sound of singer Lannie Hal or the vocalist Flora Purim’s moving version. For the bassist, this is another homage that recognizes just how much Brazilian music has influenced Wind and added to the jazz canon. Barron’s delicate solo opens this song, before Wind’s aching arco bowing of the bass gorgeously spells out the melody. Wilson drum work opens the rhythm with exquisite restraint, as Barron’s piano expands on the melody. When Cohen’s clarinet enters the mix it’s like her sound takes on the yearning, voice-like element that one remembers from the original. Despite being wordless, these guys transmit the pathos of the sentiment of  saying goodbye to a lover.

The album continues with “Standing at the Window Waving Goodbye,” another Wind composition, that deals with poignant moments of dealing with saying goodbye to someone who is important to you. This reflective, unresolved piece is another example of the music that speaks the most to this bassist as a composer. Cohen’s clarinet seems to float above the music, as Barron’s piano is perfectly supportive. Barron’s solo work always elevates the possibilities of harmonic inventiveness and Wind and Wilson maintain the breezy rhythm.  

Mitchell Parish’s “Stars Fell on Alabama” is a ballad played at a slow gait that has an easy swing to it, and has an obvious tie-back to the album’s theme, Stars. Cohen’s burnished clarinet resonates with sustained warmth, and she navigates the melody with reverence and unadorned emotion. This song brings you back to a time when the pace was more forgiving and a twilight concert offered at a local gazebo could allow you to just sit back and get lost in the music.

My digital release had two bonus songs, the first is a Bill Mays composition “Blues with Two Naturals.” Mays is a pianist/composer that is part of the Martin Wind Quartet. Mays is known for his harmonic humor and on this one he naturalizes the two notes in the key signature, counter to a standard blues form that uses flattened notes.  Kenny Barron, Wind and Wilson make this one all their own.

“Marc’s Moment” is another digital release bonus track that Wind composed and didn’t include on the album. This closer is a joyous, free flowing song that has a medium swing feel to it. Cohen’s clarinet just hovers like a feather, twirling up and gliding down along the thermals as the rhythm section is led by Wind’s booming bass, Barron’s pianistic accompaniment and Wilson’s gossamer drum work.

Martin Wind’s Stars offers the listener some joyful, easy listening music played by a remarkably cohesive band, whose artistry should not be missed.

West Coast Guitarist Jim Witzel and his Quartet Mine the Music of Bill Evans on Very Early

 Guitarist Jim Witzel and his Quartet's Very Early : Remembering Bill Evans

Jim Wetzil Quartet: Very Early: Remembering Bill Evans: Joplin &Sweeney Records

The West Coast guitarist Jim Witzel is a new player to me. I was introduced to Witzel’s Quartet work on his latest release Very Early: Remembering Bill Evans out on the Joplin Sweeney label released August of 2025. I don’t always get a chance to listen to all of the music I receive in a timely manner, so my getting hip to this album now is no excuse. Better late than never.

Jim Witzel’s Very Early is a fresh look at some of the music that pianist Bill Evans’ incorporated into his repertoire. These songs were either written by Evans, or were penned by others, but they became invaluable vehicles of creative inspiration for the pianist over his career.  Credit Witzel and his pianist/co-arranger Phil Aaron for selectively choosing nine important compositions that beautifully represent the essence of Evans musical psyche.

I often find it helpful to learn a little of the history of an artist like Jim Witzel, to better understand what factors he encountered on his trip that helped him find his own musical voice. Witzel was brought up in the North Bay area town of San Rafael and picked up guitar at the age of twelve. He recalls three albums that made an indelible impression of him as a young aspiring guitarist- Wes Montgomery’s Boss Guitar, Jim Hall & Rob Carter’s Alone Together, and Pat Metheny’s Bright Size Life. He clearly had a good ear and excellent taste even back then.

Jim Witzel (photo credit unknown)

Jim took Creative Arts studies with a Music emphasis at San Franciso State University, where he had a chance to study with alto saxophonist John Handy.  He led his own jazz quartet, hosted and performed on a weekly television show “Jazz After Midnight,” and received a travel grant from the National Endowment of the Arts which allowed him to study with guitar great Jack Wilkins in New York and Howard Roberts in Los Angeles. Witzel eventually relocated to Los Angeles where he free-lanced in jazz groups, offered private guitar lessons to aspiring guitarists, and took a few private lessons with guitarists John Abercrombie and Joe Iorio. In 1992, Jim released an album titled Give and Take with bassist John Patitucci and drummer Ralph Penland, also featuring guests like John Abercrombie, saxophonist Ernie Watts, keyboardist Russel Ferrante and bassist Marc Johnson. All these experiences added to Witzel’s rapid maturation as a respected and talented jazz guitarist.

Witzel eventually returned to the Bay area, and besides being an active performer, he is currently a faculty member at Santa Clara University where he is a Professor of Jazz Studies.

Jim and pianist Phil Aaron have been collaborating since the late nineties. On this latest album, Very Early: Remembering Bill Evans, Witzel and Aaron are joined by Dan Feiszli on bass and Jason Lewis on drums.

The music opens with Victor Young’s classic “Beautiful Love.” The song preserves Evans’ probing approach to the composition’s melodicity that the pianist always strove to maintain for the listener, while still exploring   harmonic grounds that could surprise and delight. Witzel and company accomplish these goals while retaining their own contemporary voice throughout.  Witzel’s playing on his Gibson ES165 single pick-up guitar recalls the warm tone of Jim Hall. Aaron’s piano accompaniment is tactile, energized and on point.  Feiszli and Lewis swing with confident aplomb. In one break, the two trade lines,  bass and brushed snare work interchange, that impressively communicate a sense of intuition.

The set includes the less familiar “How My Heart Sings”, an Earl Zindars composition, which was first heard on Evans’ album of the same name from 1964.  The quartet also does their own take on Steve Swallow’s “Falling Grace,” which was first heard on vibraphonist Gary Burton’s album from 1966 The Time Machine. True to Evans approach to this song, first recorded by Bill on Intuition from 1975, Witzel's group abandon the ethereal approach that Burton and Swallow first envisioned and follow the pianist’s vision. They open with Witzel’s probing guitar lines, a Metheny-inspired exploration on the theme, as the band carry the circuitous route. Witzel explores the terrain with horizontal lines that seem to emerge from the ether.  Feiszli’s throbbing bass lines are strong and sustained. Aaron’s piano solo is inventive and joyful, while Lewis’ drum work is propulsive. Worth the price of admission.

Miles Davis is the listed composer of “Solar” first recorded on his album Miles Davis Quintet from 1954, but allegedly this was composed by the guitarist Chuck Wayne. Evans’ released, to many consider the seminal version of this song, on his album Bill Evans Trio Sunday at the Village Vanguard, from NYC in 1961. The song became a frequent part of the pianist’s repertoire. On Witzel’s version, Lewis’s drum set opens with a declaratory roll, before Feiszli’s walking bass lines add to the excitement and pace. Aaron’s piano is the first to explore his own harmonic ideas that swirl over the rhythm section. Witzel’s guitar lines enter with a fluidity that charms and impresses. The ideas that come out of Jim’s guitar percolate from an internal well of inventiveness that never runs dry. Toward the coda, the group executes some stop/starts that surprise and add to the kineticism and excitement of this great take.

The title cut Bill Evans’ “Very Early” is a beautiful ballad that oscillates from one musical idea to another in a repeating theme. The catchy theme tattoos to your mind as Witzel’s guitar lines lead you through the garden of thoughts. Aaron’s piano is the first to solo on the theme, expanding on the possibilities over this repeating melody. Witzel takes his turn using variously conceived, ascending and descending lines to accentuate his take this on this theme. Feiszli’s pizzicato bass work here adds a third interpretation.

“Israel” is a composition written by trumpeter/composer John Carisi and first heard on Miles Davis Birth of the Cool album from 1949. This minor blues tune was an important part of Bill Evans playing repertoire and here Witzel and bandmates execute this memorable piece with style and confidence. These guys swing on this one, led by Feiszli’s booming bass and Lewis’ responsive drum work. Aaron is the first soloist who mines some imaginative, blues-inspired improvisations in a trio of Feiszli’s bass and Lewis’s trap work.  It’s Witzel’s Wes-inspired guitar lines that take this tune into another orbit. Jim’s facility is marvelous and his fretboard ideas never seem to disappoint. Another example of how Evans’ repertoire still offers endless possibilities to creative artists.

This excellent album continues with Leonard Bernstein’s moving 1944 ballad “Some Other Time.”   Miles Davis composition “Nardis” includes a plucky opening pizzicato solo entre from Feiszli, and some great interplay by this intuitive group.  One my favorites Evan’s compositions “Peri’s Scope,” finishes of this album.

I first heard on his Portraits in Jazz with Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motion on drums from 1959. Witzel and company chooses to give this one a Latin rhythmic feel. Opening with Lewis’ syncopated stick work, the group takes it out with Witzel’s guitar leading the way into the ozone. Aaron’s piano spices things up with his own Latinized ideas as the rhythm section maintains the pulse energizing the melody to the finale.