Jack of Hearts
isn't the first
Anthony Wilson
album to feature an organist extensively; for example, he worked with the Los Angeles-based organist
Joe Bagg
on his 2005 release
Savivity
. But the guitarist has worked with acoustic pianists more often than organists (at least as of 2009), and
is unusual in that it finds
Wilson
not using a pianist at all. On this early 2009 session,
forms an intimate trio with
Larry Goldings
on organ and
Jeff Hamilton
or
Jim Keltner
on drums. In the '90s and 2000s,
Goldings
was one of the leading proponents of a post-
Jimmy Smith
aesthetic on the Hammond B-3.
has been greatly influenced by the late
Larry Young
, who started out as a
Smith
disciple but evolved into an innovative, distinctive post-bop/modal player and went down in history as "The
John Coltrane
of the Organ." Of course,
is not a clone of
Young
; he is most certainly his own person, but he shares
's love of post-bop. So it isn't surprising that
does a lot to shape the post-bop perspective that dominates
. His presence is a major plus on material that was composed by
and/or
, and it is a major plus on memorable arrangements of
Coleman Hawkins
'
"Hawkeyes"
and two of
Duke Ellington
's lesser-known pieces (
"Zweet Zursday"
and
"Carnegie Blues"
). The fact that neither of those
Ellington
tunes is a standard speaks well of
, who is smart enough to realize that one of the joys of the vast
songbook is hearing all of the worthwhile
compositions that didn't become standards.
is a consistently engaging addition to
's catalog. ~ Alex Henderson