Showing posts with label Jack Wilkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jack Wilkins. Show all posts

Monday, July 21, 2025

Gene Bertoncini & Jack Wilkins - Just The Two Of Us

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2000
Time: 72:00
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 164,8 MB
Art: Front

(9:16) 1. Lover Man
(9:37) 2. How Deep Is The Ocean
(8:39) 3. Cry Me A River
(6:40) 4. Gone With The Wind
(3:35) 5. Spring Is Here
(8:11) 6. Manha De Carnival
(7:24) 7. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
(5:51) 8. Here's That Rainy Day
(6:33) 9. Embraceable You
(6:10) 10. The Shadow Of Your Smile

Chiaroscuro Records continues please jazz fans by recording and releasing live performances from the annual Floating Jazz Festival. This session brings together two of the more accomplished contemporary jazz guitar players. Gene Bertoncini is comfortable in the duo setting having made several well-known recordings with long time associate bassist Michael Moore. Jack Wilkins who may not be as well known, is no stranger to the duo guitar arrangement, having worked with Jimmy Bruno in a twosome guitar setting.

The program is made up of familiar, romantic standards. But the major role these tunes have is to provide the harmonic, chordal structure for these two pros to do some very imaginative improvisation. It could have been any set of musical pieces and the results and they are excellent would not have been all that different. These artists feed off each other's ideas and those ideas never get stale. They return to the melody line from time to time just to remind the listener what they're playing. Hear them on the old war-horse "Cry Me a River" where they offer mutual challenges to better than what went on before.

The playing is, as one would expect, intimate. But the word "intimate" is used more in the sense of comradely rather than soft and personal. While some cuts are delicate, others are boldly performed, such as the up tempo version of "Gone with the Wind." There's a bit of cleverness here as "A Night in Tunisia" in worked in to "The Shadow of Your Smile.".strange musical bed fellows indeed, but pulled off with aplomb. On the aforementioned gentle side, "Here's That Rainy Day" starts as a lovely baroque like sonata before it seques into a flowing conversation between the two.

Chiaroscuro shows its usual generosity by extending the playing time beyond 70 minutes. Kudos must also go to the audience who were obviously quietly attentive throughout the set making no extraneous noises. This is a good album by two of the best in the business and is recommended. By Dave Nathan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/just-the-two-of-us-gene-bertoncini-chiaroscuro-records-review-by-dave-nathan

Personnel: Gene Bertoncini: guitar; Jack Wilkins: guitar.

Just The Two Of Us

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Jack Wilkins - Until It's Time

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2009
Time: 69:35
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 159,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:02) 1. Arthur's Theme
(5:50) 2. Show Me
(6:02) 3. Blossom
(4:58) 4. Walk Don't Run
(6:30) 5. These Foolish Things
(4:32) 6. Lauro's Waltz
(7:23) 7. Two for the Road
(5:30) 8. Fur Elise
(5:04) 9. Tico-Tico
(5:35) 10. Airegin
(4:24) 11. Until It's Time for You to Go
(7:39) 12. Blossom (extended version)

A guitarist with the kind of dexterity that Jack Wilkins shares is bound to find success in many fields, especially when based in New York, where he's surrounded by great musicians all the time. As Until It's Time features piano, bass and drums in support of Wilkins' sensual fret board articulation, much of the album relies on familiar songs and a conservative love affair with melody.

Wilkins works in unison with piano, stretches out frequently, and turns his musical partners loose often in order to invite adventures of their own. Most of the session features up-tempo romps where rhythm grabs a collar-full of surprise and propels the unit forcefully. Others, such as "These Foolish Things," slow the mood down considerably in order to allow soulful ballad feelings their share of the moment.

A blazing-fast arrangement of "Tico Tico" finds Wilkins burning up the fret board with fingers that accelerate like a machine gun. While his articulation rides fast in sixth gear, the guitarist delivers a crystal attack where every note finds clarity. Similarly, "Airegin" and "Show Me" allow the ensemble to romp hard and fast with a characteristic bop attack.

Wilkins, 65, has remained an integral part of the New York jazz scene for close to 50 years. From Buddy Rich's small ensembles of the 1970s to a modern-day NEA grant and a striking relationship with the Smithsonian Institution, he's covered all the jazz bases and continues to create great jazz. By Jim Santella
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/until-it-jack-wilkins-maxjazz-review-by-jim-santella

Personnel: Jack Wilkins: amplified guitar; Jon Cowherd: piano, piano & organ (3, 12), organ (11); Steve LaSpina: double bass; Mark Ferber: drums; Samuel Torres: percussion (1); Jeff Barone: acoustic guitar (3, 12).

Until It's Time