Dan Wilensky

GOOD MUSIC: "There are only two kinds of music. Good Music and the other kind."  So said Duke Ellington, and probably a whole bunch of other people. Good Music is saxophonist Dan Wilensky's examination of music for music's sake, his unpretentious "serving the music" recording. Seven of the eleven tunes are chordless trio affairs, bringing—as a touchstone—Sonny Rollins' groundbreaking A Night At the Village Vanguard (Blue Note, 1958) to mind with its fearless flexibility and Wilensky's muscular and assured tone

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GOOD MUSIC: "There are only two kinds of music. Good Music and the other kind."  So said Duke Ellington, and probably a whole bunch of other people. Good Music is saxophonist Dan Wilensky's examination of music for music's sake, his unpretentious "serving the music" recording. Seven of the eleven tunes are chordless trio affairs, bringing—as a touchstone—Sonny Rollins' groundbreaking A Night At the Village Vanguard (Blue Note, 1958) to mind with its fearless flexibility and Wilensky's muscular and assured tone. Especially on the opener, George Gershwin's "S'Wonderful."  Good Music is a remarkably cohesive set, in spite of its disparate compositional sources—Gershwin, The Beatles, The Youngbloods, Sammy Cahn, Pablo Beltran Ruiz, George Cates, to go along with five strong Wilensky originals. Credit Wilensky's focused musical personality and vision.  Guitarist Dan Balmer sits in on four numbers, including The Beatles' "And I Love Her." It is the mellowest take on the tune imaginable—Wilensky's tone full and rich, with Balmer spinning luminescent spiderwebs around the deliberate rendering of the melody. From the rock group the Youngbloods—Balmer sits in again— Wilensky offers up "Get Together," turning the pop tune into an ominous dirge, with the Balmer adding a near-orchestral, Bill Frisell-like backdrop; while the Pablo Beltran Ruiz composition "Sway" could inspire a rise from the listening chair, and a sending of the feet slipping into a saucy cha-cha.  The set closes with George Cates' "Adios, Au Revoir, Alf Wiedersehn," the Lawrence Welk theme song. Wilensky and company—including, on this one offering, accordionist Mike Danner—give the song a pastoral, lullaby feeling, a restive close to an inspired outing. – DAN MCCLENAGHAN  All About Jazz (June 18, 2018) MADE IN PORTLAND: "Joyful … Soulful … Rollicking …. Memorable. Made In Portland draws upon Wilensky’s years of expertise, and features some of Oregon’s top local musicians. One soon appreciates why Polyglot is the name of the record label. There is no shortage of variety on this disc. Each of the 13 songs, including seven Wilensky originals and a free improvisation, has it’s own plot." – Scott Yanow 4 Stars in Downbeat (November, 2015) BACK IN THE MIX: "Four top jazz players and a great discovery." — Jürg Sommer Der Sonntag (February, 2012) You might initially be drawn in for the compelling new arrangements of “Lament” by J.J. Johnson, Cole Porter’s “Falling In Love With Love” and “Tenderly” by Gross and Lawrence, but you’ll keep coming back to Dan Wilensky’s fourth album as a leader because of its six original compositions — each of them a canny showcase for the Ann Arbor, Michigan native’s crisp individualism on the sax. – Nick DeRiso Something Else (2012) GROUP THERAPY: "From the quirky, laidback blues “Reckless Tongue” to the alluring, Spanish-flavored “Exotikiss” and the edgy rubato number “Certain Nights,” fueled by Phelps’ audacious, distortion-laced guitar lines, they cover a lot of musical ground while exhibiting uncanny group empathy." — Bill Milkowski Jazz Times (October, 2011) IF YOU ONLY KNEW: . . . Wilensky's individuality can be heard with his first notes. His sound is bright, crisp, and completely relaxed in all registers. His lines are direct, to the point, and completely his own; he just does not sound like anyone else. – Saxophone Journal (March, 2011) “A master class on composition, interpretation, performance, practice and repertoire selection . . . brevity, professionalism, structural musical competency, simplicity, humility and grace. . . . The title piece is a ballad of careful beauty that comes to a simmer and beyond. – All About Jazz (March, 2011) MUSICIAN! (Book released in 2010): There really isn't a single page that doesn't have words of gold on it. — Tom Erdmann Saxophone Journal (2011)

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