Podcast 465: A Conversation with Glenn Wilson

Dubbed “an unsung hero in modern jazz” by the All Music Guide, the baritone saxophonist Glenn Wilson has been cherished by discerning listeners who recognize a visionary improviser and inspired bandleader when they hear one. On his new live album Timely, on Cadence Jazz Records, Wilson is joined by a treasured compatriot, the trumpeter John D’Earth. Along with the pianist John Toomey, the bassist Jimmy Masters and the drummer Tony Martucci, the quintet recorded over two nights at the Havana Nights Jazz Club in Virginia Beach, resulting in an inspired mixture of new, improvised tunes (“Inner Life” and the title track) and both reworked and new tunes from the likes of Pepper Adams (“Dylan’s Delight”), Wayne Shorter (“Sightseeing”) and Bob Belden (“Fat Beat”). In a career that spans five decades, Glenn Wilson has been featured with such iconic jazz and Latin music leaders as Buddy Rich, Lionel Hampton, Machito, Tito Puente and the Bob Belden Ensemble; he has also appeared with rock hit-maker, Bruce Hornsby. Wilson has seven solo albums and has appeared on dozens of jazz recordings as a sideman. Currently based in central Illinois, Wilson performs with his two groups, The Jazzmaniacs and TromBari, featuring trombonist Jim Pugh. He currently is a member of Doc Severinson’s touring band, and is on the jazz faculty at the University of Illinois – Champaign/Urbana, where he teaches Jazz Pedagogy and Music Business, as well as saxophone studio and combos/ensembles. Podcast 465 is my conversation with Glenn, as he shares stories about his time with Pepper Adams and Bob Belden; he the Timely record finally came to be released; and how he came to record with Bruce Hornsby. Music accompaniments include three tracks from the new CD - “Dylan’s Delight,” “Inner Life,” and “Fat Beat”; the title track from Belden’s tribute to the music of Sting, “Straight to My Heart”, and Hornsby’s jazz-infused “Rainbow’s Cadillac” from Harbor Lights, which featured Wilson on bari, D'earth on trumpet and Branford Marsalis on sax.