An extraordinary musical journey. In between songs Abram talked through the parts of Philippa Schuyler's inspiring but tragic biography that had inspired each one, but the imaginative depth and scope of his playing needed no explanation. Each song brought a new thrill of emotional definition and colour. There is a fearless expressiveness in Wilson’s playing that cuts right through the laid-back virtuosity that so many people can find off-putting in jazz as a genre (me included at times). And this means that when he breaks away into passages of playfulness or irony, he taps right into that old liberating joy that seems to belong specially to the trumpet in jazz. All this would not have been possible, either, without the touch and freedom with which the rest of the quartet related musically throughout. Steve Pringle on the piano, in particular, moved easily between lonely, spacious meditations and soft rolling grooves, and Matt Fisher’s drumming managed to be avidly energetic, subtly sharp and swinging by turns. A great night indeed…
By Harry Acton
