Dave Wilson: Ephemeral

On Ephemeral (Thelonious), Chicago-raised and New Zealand-based saxophonist and bass clarinetist Dave Wilson blends his hometown’s urban verve with his adopted island’s natural beauty. The secret sauce is an improvising string quartet that both prods and pacifies his own quintet. Fellow suckers for Messiaen-ic birdsong adaptations will respond immediately to the perky black-throated gray warbler tune that inspired the spiritedly grooving opener, “speak to me of yesterday and tomorrow (elusive as the dead).” Following a lushly extended mid-album aural valley, Ephemeral reactivates excellently for the duration with superimposed rhythms and more tasteful soloing, before concluding with Macedonian dance workout “Keep It To Yourself.”