Glenn Wilson's Baritone Sax, 1984

There are household names on the Jazz scene, names just about everybody recognizes--Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Wynton Marsalis and on from there. These people got their fame mostly on the merits of their music. There are other names we wont mention, who perhaps do not live up to their fame by the quality of their playing. Then there are those musicians who bask in the dim light of obscurity for various reasons, often little to do with the how well they can play.

Take baritone saxophonist Glenn Wilson. He attracted some attention on the New York scene in the '80s, then decided to move out of the spotlight, settling in a smaller locale far away from the limelight. Although he has continued to play, he is a player who is not often thought of and gets little to no exposure in the jazz media.

So in 2000 when Cadence Jazz records re-released his first recording from 1985, it was rather an act of faith in his musicianship than a high-stakes entrepreneurial maneuver. That album, "Impasse," I believe remains in print. It's a fine recording, showing Wilson's baritone artistry at its best. He is surrounded by some players who may be more well-known today (Harold Danko, Dennis Irwin, Adam Nussbaum) than Wilson, but he is right up there with them. And as a far as baritone players go, he is a very good one. Possibly great.

"Impasse" gives the listener a varied program of standards and originals, but all of it has the drive and energy of a good post-Coltrane session of that era. It is well worth your time and energy. Glenn Wilson may not be a Miles Davis, but he does the finest version of Glenn Wilson available today. And that's pretty cool.

Go to www.cadencebuilding.com for more info.