Easterly Winds provides an excellent contrast to
Jack Wilson's first Blue Note album,
Somethin' Personal. Where his label debut was cool and romantic,
Easterly Winds is a brassy, funky collection of soul-jazz and hard bop with instant appealing.
Wilson keeps the tone fairly diverse, both in his originals and covers. After hitting hard with the funky opening pair
"Do It" and "On Children" (both of which illustrate that he was familiar with contemporary soul), he quiets the mood with a nice version of
Johnny Mandel's "A Time for Love." On the second half, he turns in soul-jazz ("Easterly Winds"), straight hard bop ("Frank's Tune") and the charmingly lyrical "Nirvanna." Throughout it all,
Wilson is subtle and tasteful, allowing trumpeter
Lee Morgan and alto saxophonist
Jackie McLean their time in the spotlight; trombonist
Garnett Brown has a couple of nice moments as well, while bassist
Bob Cranshaw and
Billy Higgins lend solid rhythmic support. It's another impressive, enjoyable effort from one of the most underrated pianists on Blue Note's '60s roster. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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