That's Gonna Leave a Mark

Personnel: Matt Wilson (vocals, drums); The Swayettes, The Wilson Family Singers, Karlie Bruce, Henry Wilson, Felicia Wilson (vocals); Jeff Lederer (clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Andrew D'Angelo (bass clarinet, alto saxophone); Chris Lightcap (bass instrument).
Liner Note Author: Matt Wilson .
Recording information: Maggie's Farm, Buck's County, PA (09/14/2008/09/15/2008).
Matt Wilson puts his Arts & Crafts band with Terell Stafford and Gary Versace on the back burner for the time being to present his quartet featuring saxophonists/clarinetists Andrew D'Angelo and Jeff Lederer. The sound of this band is raw and edgier, but still retains the ability to swing hard, and dig into deep blues or funk. D'Angelo, recovered from a well publicized bout with a brain tumor, is playing with a reckless abandon rivaling Eric Dolphy. Wilson's drumming is simply superb, while his repertoire continues to stretch out and embrace diversity, tapping on sources from different decades, as well as the present. The title selection refers to one falling off a bicycle in a shell shocked scattershot bop, while "Getting Friendly" has a romanticism cloaked in a semi-dirge frame, with D'Angelo's alto and Lederer's soprano sax painting sour lime colors. The humorously titled "Shooshabuster" is a toned-down curse word, where the composer D'Angelo wails on his alto, letting the Dolphy like overtones loose. The band does a version of the great bop classic "Two Bass Hit" with adroit flexibility, mixing road song urgency with the sourdough horns. A vocally enhanced version of War's "Why Can't We Be Friends?" is tossed in at the end just for fun.