New York, New Sound

1	Milestones / Gerald Wilson Orchestra 7:28
2	Blues for the Count / Gerald Wilson Orchestra 9:55
3	Equinox / Gerald Wilson Orchestra 6:42
4	Viva Tirado (Mucho Mas) / Gerald Wilson Orchestra 9:14
5	Teri / Gerald Wilson Orchestra 3:37
6	Blues for Yna Yna / Gerald Wilson Orchestra 8:08
7	Theme for Monterey: Romance/Carmel by the Sea/Seventeen Mile Drive / Gerald Wilson Orchestra 14:51
8	M Capetillo / Gerald Wilson Orchestra 4:53
9	Josefina / Gerald Wilson Orchestra 5:16
10	Nancy Jo / Gerald Wilson Orchestra 6:08

Barnes & Noble

It’s not every artist who can make a comeback at 85 years of age, but Gerald Wilson isn’t your average artist. Although best known as a West Coast arranger-bandleader, Wilson came to New York to get the job done this time around, pulling together some of the city’s finest jazz players, among them drummer Lewis Nash, pianist Kenny Barron, and saxophonists Frank Wess and Jimmy Heath, to make up a crack studio ensemble. Although he hasn’t been in the public eye for quite a while, Wilson is still at the top of his game. With an instantly identifiable -- at least by modern jazz aficionados -- compositional style, Wilson brings off this surprising project with panache and high style. It’s good to have him back. Steve Futterman

All Music Guide

New York isn't a name that one ordinarily expects to see in the title of a Gerald Wilson album. Wilson, after all, has long been associated with the Los Angeles jazz scene; he started recording there in the '40s and has lived there most of his life. If anyone underscores the fact that a jazz artist doesn't need a Manhattan address to be legitimate -- a ludicrous notion that, sadly, still persists in some New York jazz circles -- it's Wilson. So where does the title New York, New Sound come from? The veteran arranger/bandleader recorded New York, New Sound during a visit to the Big Apple, where he oversees a big band that boasts heavyweight soloists like Clark Terry (trumpet, flugelhorn), Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Jimmy Heath (tenor sax), Frank Wess (tenor sax), and Kenny Barron (piano). Wilson was 85 when New York, New Sound (which was produced by the Crusaders' Stix Hooper) came out in August 2003, and even though he doesn't actually play any instruments on this album, his arranging/bandleading style is distinctively Gerald Wilson. Whether the orchestra is embracing Wilson's own compositions (which dominate the session) or arrangements of John Coltrane's "Equinox" and Miles Davis' "Milestones," Wilson's musical personality is very much in evidence -- and his personality is that of an arranger/bandleader, not a hotshot soloist. Wilson prefers to leave the soloing to other people, which is something he has long had in common with Duke Ellington. Although the Duke was a fine pianist, he never saw himself that way -- Ellington often asserted that his band was his "instrument," and Wilson brings a similar mentality to this solid addition to his catalog. Alex Henderson