Gordon Goodwin says: "There are a lot of good saxophone players in Los Angeles, and many of them play all the various saxes, including the baritone sax. But the discerning listener can hear when a musician is expressing himself on a truly nuanced level on his instrument, and such is the case when we speak about Steve Wilkerson’s baritone sax playing. There is more going on here than just the right notes, a full, resonant sound, prodigious technique and spot-on intonation. Oh, those things are going on here to be sure, but there is another level of musicianship happening as well.
Steve plays the baritone with a deep sense of commitment. Every note he plays has purpose and even though his technical skills are at a very high level, you also hear a sense of economy in his playing that is welcome and refreshing. He has developed an improvisational style that is full of groove and emotion, but also with an exciting sense of spontaneity. His record swings hard and you can hear the band’s love of the genre in every track. Andrea Baker’s vocals are an lovely added touch and they fit the music like a comfortable glove.
Steve Wilkerson has stepped up as a significant new voice on a difficult instrument. I’ve held that beast in my hands, so believe me, I know!
Congratulations, Steve!
Gordon Goodwin
The Big Phat Band
March 2015
Terry Gibbs says: "When I first heard Steve Wilkerson play the tenor saxophone, he knocked me out, and when I heard him play the clarinet , he knocked me out. Now as I listened to his new CD, Alone Together playing the baritone saxophone, once again he knocked me out. Steve has all the qualities that make up a very great jazz player. His technique and melodic lines make this music a fun CD to listen to. I highly recommend Steve Wilkerson's CD, Alone Together.
Terry Gibbs
March, 2015
Alone Together
Steve Wilkerson
What does one do when confronted with a master musician who had command over his instrument from his mind's eye? One listens! When the instrument is a monster to play, and that musician makes it work easily, one not only listens, but enjoys to what he is listening. Steve Wilkerson plays the stuff out of a baritone saxophone, making a difficult-to-play horn, sound as if the bari was made to play the way he plays it. The sound, the dexterity, the soulfulness - unlike all other baritone players - I was taken up to his special creative heaven where he lives, without so much as not "how did he do that," but "yeah, he did do it!"
The music seems to have been chosen so that the choices tell a story about - well, relationships! All were conjoined in a special tryst sharing internal secrets - not just ensembling and playing one after the other, but integrating these great songs into some kind of whole creative explosion of sturm and drang - action and emotion blending in warm conviviality. I listened through the CD twice, before I turned to writing about the music. The concepts settled on by Steve and Andrea Baker as the routes the collaborative music would take make most other music sound bland - not these routes - rich and tasty, these!
This Wilkerson assembly of artists is au courant for groups with something in common today - shared creativity, I'd say. I'm listening a third time...Andrea is now telling me about "Autumn in New York." I'm there, I'm there...thanks for bringing me back again and so warmly for autumn!
How did you all do that CD so well?
Anthony J. Agostinelli
Jazz Writer and Reviewer
June, 2015
Read more...