Tripwire Will Vinson

• 1Tripwire06:36
• 2Blue and Sentimental06:09
• 3Things08:35
• 4Fable05:37
• 5For All We Know06:37
• 6Resting Jazz Face08:13
• Total Runtime41:47

Info for Tripwire

Recorded in just one day, Tripwire is the latest album from saxophonist and composer Will Vinson. Realising a long-held ambition to record a chord-less trio album, Vinson is joined here by bassist Matt Penman, one of today’s most adventurous bass players, and drummer Eric Harland, known for his impressive work with the world’s jazz luminaries. Special guest tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana also joins for two tracks. The record captures the energy of returning to the studio and playing for the first time since the Covid-Pandemic lockdowns, and further cements Vinson’s reputation as a virtuosic risk-taking leader. Tripwire is the third Whirlwind Recordings release from Vinson, following his 2020 release Four Forty One and collaborative album TRIO GRANDE with Antonio Sanchez and Gilad Hekselman.

Tripwire documents a special session that Vinson wanted to keep loose: “I wanted to get together and try to do that thing that as jazz musicians we do so much, which is to collaborate freely on material. Very often when it comes to recording, everything becomes a bit more focused and a bit more preordained and structured, I just wanted to do something finally that had the spirit of freedom and the risk of collapse,” he explains.

Title track ‘Tripwire’ opens the record. A Vinson original, it’s based around a blues form with a triplet undercurrent and a strong anchoring bassline. There’s a kinetic trippy energy to the song that sets the rest of the album up perfectly. ‘Blue And Sentimental’ is an old favourite of Vinson’s that he wanted to lay down here in a different format. Employing a bluesy vocal sax tone, Vinson demonstrates the beauty of his instrument and how effective the chord-less line-up can be.

‘Things’ is a freewheeling interpretation of ‘All The Things You Are’ featuring guest Melissa Aldana. The extended intro is an out of time exploratory improv between the two sax giants, “I think we get to some great places,” says Vinson, “I wanted us to play freely, but also polyphonically, and to think of ourselves as two parts in an ensemble providing the harmony through the melodies that we choose to play, kind of independent voices. Other times, we're essentially shredding.”

Original composition ‘Fable’ stands out and serves as a palette cleanser mid-way through the record. It’s mostly overdubbed, providing experimental textural sax layers and making for a heady listen. ‘For All We Know’ is another favourite tune of Vinson’s and he wanted to record it in a way he hadn’t heard before: “I wanted to find different approaches to harmony on an instrument that can only play one note,” he explains. ‘Resting Jazz Face’ is an original composition with tricksy metrics featuring two horns. Vinson and Aldana trade off each other with ease, pushing the other to ever-higher echelons.

Tripwire skilfully brings together Vinson’s vision of freedom and collaboration into a cohesive album that documents the highly charged reunification of musicians, masterfully captured during a one-off recording session.

Will Vinson, saxophone
Matt Penman, double bass
Eric Harland, drums
Melissa Aldana, saxophone (tracks 4, 7)

Will Vinson
Originally from London, Alto Saxophonist/Composer Will Vinson has made his career in New York City and the world. Since his arrival in NYC, he has appeared and/or recorded with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ari Hoenig, Jonathan Kreisberg, Marcus Gilmore, Chris Potter, Kurt Elling, Lage Lund, Aaron Parks, and many others. ​

Will is a member of a number of leading ensembles, including pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s Quartet (he appears on Charlie and the Grammy-nominated Caminos), Ari Hoenig’s Punk Bop and Nonet (Will appears on Inversations, Bert’s Playground and Live at Smalls), Miguel Zenon’s Identities Orchestra (Grammy-nominated for Identities are Changeable), and his own groups featuring, among others, Lage Lund, Jeff Ballard, Aaron Parks, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Shai Maestro and Mike Moreno.

In 2012, along with bassist Orlando le Fleming and guitarist Lage Lund, he formed the critically acclaimed OWL Trio, whose eponymous debut in 2013 was hailed by critics and listeners alike. Downbeat declared: “Everything about this album,which should contend for debut of the year honors,is a resounding success. The music swings effortlessly, every utterence is gorgeous and the recording is intimate and beautiful", while All About Jazz noted that "the chemistry, sensitivity and simpatico sensibilities exhibited by these three young men are evident at every turn....OWL Trio is one of those records that finds power in quiet expression, not raised volume or aggression. Lund, Vinson and le Fleming make for an absorbing combination"

Will has an international reputation as a leader and sideman. All About Jazz New York describes Will as playing “with a relentless force”. Thomas Michelsen of Denmark’s Politiken, hails this “very exciting saxophonist” with a “beautiful, softly modulating tone”, and John Fordham of The Guardian described a "superb solo of rugged leathery sounds turning into mellifluous high notes” with “secure control and storming energy". Time Out London calls will an "exciting young altoist with a lethal approach to writing and soloing”.

Will has released 6 CD’s as a leader/composer. It’s For You (Sirocco Jazz, 2004) was described as “combining a thoughtful originality of conception with energy and fluidity of execution in very satisfying proportions” (Jazzwise magazine)

Will’s second CD, Promises (NineteenEight Records), was described as “impressive” and “coolly restrained” by Nate Chinen of the New York Times. ​

2010 saw the release of two CD's: The World (Through My Shoes), a live recording was described as "marvelous" by Downbeat and "exhilarating, cascading... outstanding" by Jazz Times. Stockholm Syndrome (Criss Cross) came out in September 2010. 2013 saw the release of Live at Smalls, one of the most successful albums on the Smalls Live label. 2016 saw the release of Will’s debut recording for 5Passion, Perfectly Out of Place, featuring an all-star group: Mike Moreno on guitar, Gonzalo Rubalcaba on piano, Matt Penman on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums. The reviews have been ecstatic. All About Jazz calls it "a marvel of compositional design, textural beauty, and musicality"; Downbeat lauds the "incredibly original" compositions that "challenge the notion of how jazz is defined in this era", Jazzwise describes it as "heart-stopping", and Sterophile Magazine declares Will "one of the best alto saxophonists in Jazz". ​

Will has appeared with his own group and as a sideman in the USA, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Australia and Japan. His musical experience has not been limited to Jazz. Will is a member of Rufus Wainwright’s band, which toured for 10 months in 2007/8. He has also performed, arranged and/ or recorded with Sufjan Stevens, Sean Lennon, Martha Wainwright, Beth Orton and Harper Simon. ​

Will's saxophone playing is executed with incredible power and dramatic sensitivity, and is characterized by his imposing sound and technique; influenced by saxophonists from Cannonball to Chris Potter, he nevertheless brings his own unique approach to every performance. Will's writing, and the playing of his colleagues, combines a great respect for the century-long jazz tradition with explorations into the rhythmic, harmonic and melodic realms of contemporary forms.

This album contains no booklet.