On When Even Goes East, his eighth album as a leader, saxophonist Dave Wilson delivers a deeply personal and musically adventurous statement that bridges classic pop songwriting and contemporary jazz expression. Blending inventive reimaginings of beloved songs from the 1960s and 1970s with four original compositions that showcase his evolving compositional voice, Wilson affirms his place as a versatile improviser, bandleader, and storyteller.
The album marks Wilson’s first studio release since 2015’s There Was Never, arriving after nearly a decade spent almost entirely on the bandstand. In the intervening years, Wilson documented his music primarily in live settings, issuing One Night at Chris’ (2019) and Stretching Supreme (2022), both recorded at Philadelphia’s Chris’ Jazz Café, as well as Live at Silvana (2024), captured at the storied Harlem nightclub. Stretching Supreme—a deep exploration of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme—earned high praise, with The Art Music Lounge calling it “an excellent CD, fully worthy of the one to whom most of the music is dedicated.”
While Wilson’s live albums thrived on the energy of spontaneous performance, When Even Goes East reflects a different kind of patience. With a schedule that often reaches 120 performances per year—ranging from jazz clubs and festivals to private engagements—alongside the demands of running Dave Wilson Musical Instruments, his full-time business specializing in vintage, modern, and student brass and woodwind instruments, the process of gathering material for a studio album unfolded gradually. The result is a carefully considered collection shaped by years of lived musical experience.
Wilson performs on both tenor and soprano saxophones throughout the album, supported by a tight-knit rhythm section featuring pianist Jesse Green, bassist Evan Gregor, and drummer Daniel Gonzalez. The trio, which has backed Wilson extensively on the road and appeared on Live at Silvana, brings a cohesive, road-tested chemistry to the session. Adding another layer of rhythmic depth is special guest percussionist Lenny Castro, whose storied résumé includes work with Toto, Eric Clapton, and John Mayer.
Born and raised in Bronxville, New York, and now based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Wilson’s musical journey began early. He started on clarinet in fourth grade, studied piano, and discovered the saxophone at age 14 after hearing John Coltrane’s Live at the Village Vanguard—a moment that would shape his artistic direction. He went on to study at Wesleyan University with Bill Barron and continued his education with a who’s who of jazz masters, including Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, and Ralph Lalama.
Wilson’s career has spanned an unusually wide stylistic spectrum. In addition to leading straight-ahead jazz groups like the Dave Wilson Quartet, he has worked in funk, rock, jazz fusion, Chicago-style horn bands, and traditional jazz. He led New Orleans–influenced ensembles such as the Canal Street Hot 6 and Dave Wilson’s Rampart Street Ramblers, both of which featured prominent figures from the Mid-Atlantic traditional jazz scene. He also spent years as a member of the Dave Stahl Sacred Orchestra and Dave Stahl Big Band, sharing the stage with luminaries including Wynton Marsalis, Tom Harrell, Lou Soloff, John Fedchock, Conrad Herwig, Gary Smulyan, and Steve Smith.
For When Even Goes East, Wilson turned to pop repertoire from the 1960s and 1970s—not as nostalgia, but as raw material for transformation. “With these pop tunes, first I have to feel a personal connection with them,” Wilson explains. “I make them my own thing, so they might veer off and not sound like the original. There has to be room for creative expression and improvisation.”
The album’s title references Wilson’s brief time as a New York City cab driver, when Manhattan’s grid system made a lasting impression. Even-numbered streets run east, odd-numbered streets west—a simple logic that becomes a metaphor for direction, movement, and personal mapping. The concept is visually echoed in the album’s cover art, designed by Jack Frisch.
The record opens with Wilson’s original “Let’s Go,” an avant-garde burner driven by frenetic energy and fearless improvisation. Other originals include the title track “When Even Goes East,” born from a one-chord jam that coalesced into a hypnotic groove and was captured in a single take; “Slow Freeze,” a dark, minor-key ballad with a spacious, atmospheric feel; and “Intragalactic Sunset,” a Brazilian-tinged piece highlighted by Wilson’s smoky tenor and an effervescent solo from Green.
Among the album’s reinterpretations, Wilson revisits “Eyes of the World,” written by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter. A longtime admirer of Garcia, Wilson treats the melody with reverence while allowing room for jazz phrasing and improvisation. “This is my third Grateful Dead arrangement,” he notes. “I used to really like the Dead, and I came back to them after a long period of not listening at all.”
Jimmy Webb’s songwriting receives special attention with two selections. “Adios,” written for Linda Ronstadt, becomes a tender soprano sax feature that captures the song’s emotional weight, while “Wichita Lineman” unfolds with understated grace, buoyed by Green’s lyrical piano work.
The album also includes striking jazz transformations of pop and rock standards. Jackson Browne’s “These Days,” written when Browne was just 16, is reimagined as a samba-tinged vehicle for soprano sax. The Lennon-McCartney classic “Fool on the Hill,” arranged by Green, takes on a spacious, dreamlike quality, while Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” is thoroughly reworked into a funk-infused jazz burner, far removed from its psychedelic rock origins.
Across the album, Wilson’s warm, expressive saxophone sound balances passion with introspection. Whether navigating the intensity of his originals or reshaping familiar melodies into new forms, he plays with empathy, imagination, and an unforced sense of flow. Anchored by a band that shares his creative instincts, When Even Goes East stands as a compelling studio return—one that speaks equally to dedicated jazz listeners and to those who still carry the songs of the 1960s and 70s close to heart.
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