Phil Wilson is one of the outstanding jazz trombonists, a sort of underground legend who distinguished himself in the 1960s as part of the Woody Herman Herd and for years as a member of the faculty of the Berklee School of Music. Since his work with the Herd, he has rarely recorded with the same intensity and technical agility. While his performance on the instant recording is not his best, it is nonetheless filled with numerous joys. Wilson solos on half the tunes, and his warm, sensuous tone infuses his still-decent technique with a life-affirming passion. His arrangements are filled with the traditional big-band excitement and swing that characterized the 1960s Herd. The NDR Big Band, one of the world's leading jazz orchestras, performs with pinpoint precision, featuring an all-star cast, including saxophonists
Herb Geller and
Christof Lauer, trumpeter Dusko Gojkovic, and pianist
Walter Norris. The first eight tracks are from a session recorded in 1990, featuring tunes by Rogers and Hart that Wilson calls collectively "The Wizard of Oz Suite," a concept that he has pursued before with his recording The Wizard of Oz Suite. The final four cuts, which include versions of "Night in Tunisia" and Wilson's "Blueberries," were recorded a year earlier and are generally a tad longer. The entire album swings vigorously, and is a representative example of tight arranging, good use of dynamics, and strong if fairly conservative soloing. Fans of Phil Wilson and of modern big band jazz should be pleased. ~ Steven Loewy