Matt Wilson Quartet + John Medeski - Gathering Call (Palmetto Records 2014)

Matt Wilson is renowned for his virtuosic flair as a drummer and his good-vibes positivity as a bandleader, not to mention his facility for collaborating with top musicians across the spectrum of jazz from the mainstream to the avant-garde and virtually everything in between. Wilson scored glowing reviews for last year s release with his band Arts & Crafts, Attitude for Gratitude, an album that DownBeat called 'fun, thoughtful, beautiful' and Vanity Fair dubbed 'the essence of jazz.' For his next offering, the Matt Wilson Quartet is joined by a special guest keyboard star John Medeski for the album Gathering Call, to be released Jan. 21, 2014, via Palmetto Records. Wilson and company with his Quartet featuring reedman Jeff Lederer, cornetist Kirk Knuffke and bassist Chris Lightcap, plus Medeski on piano have created an irresistibly tune-rich,
hard-grooving album steeped in the vintage virtues even as it sounds utterly fresh. Gathering Call rocks and it rolls, it sings and swings, brimming with brilliant musicianship and sly brio.

Gathering Call the Grammy-nominated drummer s 11th album as a leader features a brace of Wilson originals that range from the raucous, drum-driven title track and Ornette-accented 'How Ya Going?' to the atmospheric 'Dancing Waters' and elliptically lyrical 'Hope (for the Cause).' The interpretive numbers include versions of two Duke Ellington compositions
('Main Stem,' the rarely covered 'You Dirty Dog') and uncommon tunes by Charlie Rouse ('Pumpkin s Delight'), Butch Warren ('Barack Obama') and Hugh Lawson ('Get Over, Get Off and Get On'), plus the Beyoncé hit ('If I Were a Boy') and a folk traditional ('Juanita'). No matter the material, what DownBeat publisher Frank Alkyer said about the playing on Attitude for Gratitude holds fully true for Wilson and crew on Gathering Call: You can hear them all smiling behind their instruments.'

http://www.mattwilsonjazz.com