Steve Wilson to Return to NYC's 'Village Vanguard'

Jazz saxophonist Steve Wilson has confirmed his return to New York's Village Vanguard for August 6-11. At the upcoming shows, Wilson intends to bring his quartet Wilsonian's Grain (featuring Orrin Evans, Ugonna Okegwo and Bill Stewart) into the spotlight, using these concerts as a 'launching point' as he establishes the band as his current working quartet.

In January, the band played at the University of FL in Gainesville, it was this gig that cemented this idea for Wilson. "The band's performance was exactly as I had envisioned for this quartet, employing the comprovisational element -- improvisation and composition, i.e., the group's spontaneous composition and improvisation elements. This enables the group to explore any of the tunes from different perspectives with every performance so that the music is in effect a sketch that we can paint a different image of with each performance. This is the band - Orrin, Ugonna and Bill - with whom I want to explore this territory."

Wilson, one of the most most respected and acclaimed musicians in the business, recently spoke with ALL ABOUT JAZZ regarding what he perceives as a crisis in Music Education. Read the engaging article, here: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=44834&pg=1#.Udw88zlblUQ <http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=44834&pg=1#.Udw88zlblUQ>

Here's a new WBGO interview with Gary Walker:
http://www.wbgo.org/blog/saxophonist-steve-wilson-with-gary-walker

Wilson's 12/12 visit to the Village Vanguard yielded a live concert broadcast on NPR, a full-page feature in the NY Daily News(written by Greg Thomas,) a stellar Time Out NY Photo Preview Pick, and more. Time Out NY praised: "Whether he's the leader or a sideman in a given situation, seeing Steve Wilson's name on a jazz bill is as close to a guarantee of quality as you'll ever find."

As always, Wilson's busy schedule of touring, collaboration and guest appearances continues, and a full itinerary follows below.

UPCOMING STEVE WILSON ACTIVITY/APPEARANCES:

July 16-20: with Billy Childs Quartet, Birdland, NYC
July 23: Jazz in July at the 92nd St. Y - The Mad Hatter: Music of Chick Corea

( http://www.92y.org/tickets/Uptown/Subscription/Jazz-in-July-6-Concert-Series-1.aspx <http://www.92y.org/tickets/Uptown/Subscription/Jazz-in-July-6-Concert-Series-1.aspx> )

July 26: Steve Wilson/Bruce Barth Quartet (with Doug Weiss and Adam Cruz), The Falcon, Marlboro, NY ( http://www.liveatthefalcon.com/www.liveatthefalcon.com/> )

July 28 - Aug 2: Artist in Residence, Samba Meets Jazz, Bar Harbor, ME

Aug 6 - 11: Wilsonian's Grain (with Orrin Evans, Ugonna Okegwo, Bill Stewart), The VIllage Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., NY, NY 10014, set at 8:30p & 10:30p ( http://villagevanguard.com/html/home.html <http://villagevanguard.com/html/home.html> ), $25. 212-255-4037 212-255-4037> 212-255-4037 212-255-4037> >

Aug 18 - 22: Artist in Residence, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Aug 27 - 29: Artist in Residence, Adventures in Jazz, Schroon Lake, NY
Aug 31: with the Christian McBride Big Band, Curacao
Sept 4-6: with Christian McBride Big Band, University of MD, College Park
Sept 7-9: with Christian McBride Big Band, Record
Sept 20: Steve Wilson/Lewis Nash Duo with Bassist Nat Reeves, St. Michael's College, Burlington, VT
Sept 21: Steve Wilson/Lewis Nash Duo with Bassist Nat Reeves, Vermont Jazz Center, Brattleboro, VT
Oct 18-20: Wilson/Rosnes/Washington Trio, Dizzy's Coca Cola Club, NYC