Blue Porpoise Avenue

Album Review

Glenn Wilson had two recording sessions for the Sunnyside label in 1990. One, Bittersweet, was released in 1992, while the other, this album, was held in the can for almost seven years. That's carrying the don't flood the market concept a bit far. Wilson has a unique tone to the big horn, lighter than many of his contemporaries, but still has a distinctive bop edge. He also shows an extraordinary capability to manipulate his fingering, producing some very compelling improvising, such as with the sole standard on the program, "Some Other Time." The remainder of the play list are either his originals or by piano player Marc Copland and a couple of others, which allow him to engage in some free jazz pyrotechnics, such as on a headstrong "Finder's Keepers." One conspicuous aspect of that track is the guitar of Rory Stuart, which, while captivating in its lyricism, is nowhere as freewheeling as the sax player. In contrast to daring playing on this track comes the title tune, "Blue Porpoise Avenue," with its stop and go by Wilson, as Jeff Hirshfield's drums plough away underneath. The piece evolves into a medium swinging piece with the gentler side of Wilson's emphasized as he exchanges ideas with Stuart. The take off on "If I Only Had a Brain" from the Wizard of Oz modified to plead for seven giant brains with references to "Seven Steps From Heaven," and John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" is a showcase of Wilson dazzling fingering dexterity as he and Copland go toe to toe for almost eight minutes. The diversity of the music on the play list which allows for the participants to explore a variety of different playing modes, and their success at doing so makes this album very attractive.