Jack of Hearts isn't the first
Anthony Wilson album to feature an organist extensively; for example, he worked with the Los Angeles-based organist
Joe Bagg on his 2005 release
Savivity. But the guitarist has worked with acoustic pianists more often than organists (at least as of 2009), and
Jack of Hearts is unusual in that it finds
Wilson not using a pianist at all. On this early 2009 session,
Wilson forms an intimate trio with
Larry Goldings on organ and
Jeff Hamilton or
Jim Keltner on drums. In the '90s and 2000s,
Goldings was one of the leading proponents of a post-
Jimmy Smith aesthetic on the Hammond B-3.
Goldings has been greatly influenced by the late
Larry Young, who started out as a
Smith disciple but evolved into an innovative, distinctive post-bop/modal player and went down in history as "The
John Coltrane of the Organ." Of course,
Goldings is not a clone of
Young; he is most certainly his own person, but he shares
Young's love of post-bop. So it isn't surprising that
Goldings does a lot to shape the post-bop perspective that dominates
Jack of Hearts. His presence is a major plus on material that was composed by
Goldings and/or
Wilson, and it is a major plus on memorable arrangements of
Coleman Hawkins'
"Hawkeyes" and two of
Duke Ellington's lesser-known pieces (
"Zweet Zursday" and
"Carnegie Blues"). The fact that neither of those
Ellington tunes is a standard speaks well of
Wilson, who is smart enough to realize that one of the joys of the vast
Ellington songbook is hearing all of the worthwhile
Ellington compositions that didn't become standards.
Jack of Hearts is a consistently engaging addition to
Wilson's catalog. ~ Alex Henderson
