I’m really pleased to make an appearance on a tune from this new album by Wilma Archer — ‘A Western Circular’ on Domino/Weird World. Difficult to describe, really musical and creative and varied, and great fun to record! Go and check it out.
There’s also some great double bass playing from John Pope (who I’ve never met but I think is up in Newcastle, not far from where I was born) and extensive use of Dom Pusey‘s saxophone playing. Lovely stuff!
In Washington DC I had the pleasure to meet and play with lots of amazing people. Perhaps the highest joy was meeting Brad Linde and Billy Wolfe at a big band gig in my first few weeks, and joining their avant-garde/americana project along with super-hip New York cats Aaron Quinn and Deric Dickens. (I also eventually joined the wonderful Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra, which Brad leads with Joe Herrera.) We’ve released our second album and I just got round to making this trailer with a few extracts.
I tried to be representative, so there’s a bit of Haskell’s beautiful Starlight, Billy’s quasi-Konitzian original Turkey, Deric’s lilting and folky Pickett Fence, the standard Meet Me Tonight In Dreamland, and Aaron’s terrifying (which can be oiled in different patterns for different techniques). Finally, the video ends how the album begins, with Brad counting off a free blow named Gotta Blast!
Check out more and buy it here.
John Williamson 