About this concert
Dan Wilson Quintet returning to Blu Jazz after a long time. We’ll be playing some new original music as well as covers from many different styles.
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What fans are saying
Jay
September 21st 2024
Dan Wilson and his quintet are the real deal. Heard a track featuring just him and Christian McBride on WDCB, the local jazz station, looked him up, and discovered he was playing . . . a high school auditorium? Looked into it, and turned out he was giving a master class to the students at two different high schools, and they were going to celebrate by putting on a show. It was free and I was free that evening, so I figured, why not?
Man, I am so glad I did. Each of the two high school jazz bands did a short set, and Dan Wilson sat in with each group. After that, Dan and his quintet took the stage for a full set.
What an amazing group! Dan Wilson has some incredible guitar chops, lightning fast but still smooth and musical. The saxophonist, Sharel Cassity, was similarly gifted, playing alto sax most of the time but taking a turn on the soprano sax at one point. Both the guitarist and the sax player had a couple of solos that went on for multiple choruses and remained engrossing, not just doodling around. Drummer David Throckmorton also blew me away, especially when he started a solo with a few knocks on the rim of the drum and built from there. Running out of space, but bassist Brandon Rose and pianist Glenn Zalenski were likewise talented.
They played together as a quintet, not just five talented musicians taking turns. They listened to each other, responding, supporting, and driving the music forward.
The auditorium environment was not too bad. Only complaint was the bass was a little loud, the piano a little soft. The piano sounded like a compressed mono recording from the late 40s / early 50s, probably an artifact of the high school sound system.
Next time Dan and his group get back to Chicago or Milwaukee, I will totally be there. After the concert, I picked up the CD Vessels of Wood and Earth, with that track I heard on the radio featuring Dan and Christian McBride. I've only heard it once but it contains magic similar to what I heard that night.
Skokie, IL@Robert L. Johnson Auditorium Skokie, IL
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Dan Wilson Jazz Guitarist Biography
Growing up in Akron, Ohio, Dan Wilson spent the majority of his youth within the church community, where his musical path began.
Traces of his major guitar influences – including Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, Joe Pass, and George Benson to name a few – can be discerned through his playing, but his musical identity has been shaped by everything from gospel and blues to traditional jazz, hip-hop and horn players like Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
After graduating from Hiram College, Wilson made his recording debut with pianist Joe McBride and performed to worldwide acclaim with Joey DeFrancesco and Christian McBride’s Tip City, eventually recording his debut as a leader To Whom It May Concern.
Wilson has had the honor of sharing the stage with jazz greats including Eric Marienthal, Russell Malone, Les McCann, René Marie, Jeff Hamilton, David Sanborn and Dave Stryker. He also teaches jazz guitar and music theory through private lessons.
Wilson’s career took him on an exploratory journey into foundations laid down by the guitar/organ tradition, eventually leading to an invitation to perform with jazz great Joey DeFrancesco’s trio quartet, with which Wilson went on to earn a GRAMMY® Award nomination with for DeFrancesco’s Project Freedom album (Mack Avenue Records, 2017).
This collaboration allowed the guitarist to insert his own dialect into the musical prowess and respect that DeFrancesco had earned throughout his journey.
Wilson had been playing with DeFrancesco for a few years when he met bassist, composer, arranger, Christian McBride. From there, Wilson went on to tour with McBride’s trio Tip City, eventually leading McBride to serve as producer on "Vessels of Wood and Earth" and release the album on his newly formed imprint Brother Mister Productions through Mack Avenue Music Group.
Wilson's latest Mack Avenue release, "Thing Eternal," features his current working band featuring David Throckmorton (drums), Brandon Rose (bass), Glenn Zaleski (piano), Nigel Hall (vocals), Jessica Yafanaro (vocals), and Tommy Lehman (vocals), was released in May of 2023.
Read MoreTraces of his major guitar influences – including Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, Joe Pass, and George Benson to name a few – can be discerned through his playing, but his musical identity has been shaped by everything from gospel and blues to traditional jazz, hip-hop and horn players like Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
After graduating from Hiram College, Wilson made his recording debut with pianist Joe McBride and performed to worldwide acclaim with Joey DeFrancesco and Christian McBride’s Tip City, eventually recording his debut as a leader To Whom It May Concern.
Wilson has had the honor of sharing the stage with jazz greats including Eric Marienthal, Russell Malone, Les McCann, René Marie, Jeff Hamilton, David Sanborn and Dave Stryker. He also teaches jazz guitar and music theory through private lessons.
Wilson’s career took him on an exploratory journey into foundations laid down by the guitar/organ tradition, eventually leading to an invitation to perform with jazz great Joey DeFrancesco’s trio quartet, with which Wilson went on to earn a GRAMMY® Award nomination with for DeFrancesco’s Project Freedom album (Mack Avenue Records, 2017).
This collaboration allowed the guitarist to insert his own dialect into the musical prowess and respect that DeFrancesco had earned throughout his journey.
Wilson had been playing with DeFrancesco for a few years when he met bassist, composer, arranger, Christian McBride. From there, Wilson went on to tour with McBride’s trio Tip City, eventually leading McBride to serve as producer on "Vessels of Wood and Earth" and release the album on his newly formed imprint Brother Mister Productions through Mack Avenue Music Group.
Wilson's latest Mack Avenue release, "Thing Eternal," features his current working band featuring David Throckmorton (drums), Brandon Rose (bass), Glenn Zaleski (piano), Nigel Hall (vocals), Jessica Yafanaro (vocals), and Tommy Lehman (vocals), was released in May of 2023.
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