8 Bold Souls Discography of CDs

8 Bold Souls music CDs Though to many New York City is the center of the jazz universe, Chicago has always rivaled--if not equaled--it as a fertile environment for cutting-edge jazz. 8 Bold Souls is an octet with composer/multi-reed player Edward Wilkerson, Jr. at the helm, and the group is as daring, inventive, and satisfying as any on the early 21st-century American jazz landscape. Wilkerson composes thoughtfully eclectic tunes that demonstrate an appreciation of the varied history of American music in general and jazz in particular. "Third One Smiles" is a mid-tempo funk piece with percolating New Orleans rhythms and bristling hot-bop trumpet solos--imagine Lee Morgan's "Sidewinder" at a Mardi Gras jam session. "The Art of Tea" is a slow, torch-blues tune, rich with Duke Ellington-style textures (a big influence throughout) and a low-down cello solo. "Pachinko" is a surreal tango around the ...

8 Bold Souls discography Composer: Edward Wilkerson, Jr. Personnel: Naomi Millender (cello); Edward Wilkerson, Jr. (clarinet, alto clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Mwata Bowden (clarinet, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Robert Griffin (trumpet, flugelhorn); Isiah S. Jackson (trombone); Aaron Dodd (tuba); Dushun Mosley (drums, percussion). Recording information: 1986. Arranger: Edward Wilkerson, Jr.

8 Bold Souls songs The follow-up to their highly successful (at least artistically) album Sideshow, Ant Farm treads a similar path, though perhaps in a slightly more straight-ahead vein, with more light-footed activity and less brooding contemplation. All the pieces are by leader Wilkerson, tending toward a jaunty swing spiced with a tinge ...