Sarah Wilson
Trapeze Project
Brass Tonic Records
www.sarawilsonmusic.com
By George W. Harris

Sarah Wilson is a composer/trumpeter/vocalist that has a nice way with a melody. Plaintive on horn, and ethereal on voice, she teams up with a group of people associated with the free jazz movement (Myra Melford/p, Ben Goldberg/c, Jerome Harris/b, Scott Amendola/dr) but keeps the music, for the most part, fairly tame and lyrical. Most of her compositions have memorable and sweet melodies, such as “Blessing” and “At Zebulon,” and it simply depends upon the mood of Goldberg whether he keeps the melody tame, or cuts loose the rope and lets it run wild. Wilson’s voice has a Fairport Convention type of folksiness to it on the handful of selections, and Melford’s piano leans more towards the calm side of Jackie Byard here, with a few notable exceptions. Spacious and charming in its own right.