The Jazz Session #590: Will Vinson

Alto saxophonist Will Vinson hails from England but established a great many of his musical collaborations while living in New York City. These working relationships with musicians like Aaron Parks, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Ari Hoenig, to name a few, have resulted in Will’s reputation as a saxophonist with incredible power and dramatic sensitivity, whose playing is characterised by his imposing sound and technique. Will’s recording output has also been prolific. In fact, we met over Zoom (Will was in Australia but time-difference be damned!) to discuss TWO of his recent albums. Both released in 2020, there was “Four Forty One”, which features Will with five incredible pianists (Sullivan Fortner, Fred Hersch, Tigran Hamasyan, Gerald Clayton and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and “Trio Grande”, which features his trio with guitarist Gilad Hekselman and drummer Antonio Sanchez. Since our conversation, he has released a 2021 album,  “Solo”, his third release for the London-based Whirlwind Recordings. While we didn’t get to discuss “Solo”, there was ample musical ground to cover.

Show Notes:
Tracklisting:
– Northbound (with Trio Grande)
– Boogaloo (feat. Sullivan Fortner)
– That Happened (feat. Gonzalo Rubalcaba)
– Elli Yeled Tov (with Trio Grande)
– Work (feat. Fred Hersch)

https://triogrande-whirlwind.bandcamp.com/album/trio-grande
https://willvinson-whirlwind.bandcamp.com/album/four-forty-one

Theme music by The Respect Sextet
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Author: Jason Crane