Jack Wilkins

PJC 2015 Paris Jazz corner.com


Jack really is an accomplished player and this album unquestionably
showcases his clean, fluid swinging lines and inventive ideas. This
album just oozes musicality.
This collection comprises of twelve tracks, mostly standards, some
commonly played, some slightly less so and two originals written by
Jack.
The album begins with a virtuosic rendition of 'Tenderly', ably
supported by Simon Goubert on drums and Yves Torchinsky on bass. Jack weaves lines in and around the melody and whilst his playing is often littered with rapid-fire runs it is never seems gratuitous.
The title track, the Michel Legrand penned tune 'I Was Born In Love With You' is a complete contrast. Here the trio is joined by harmonica player Olivier Ker Ourio, who also plays on 'Aisha' and the beautiful Mancini classic ' Dreamsville' and vibes player Franck Tortiller. The playing on this track is sublime; the piece with its long, languorous melody performed in unison by Jack and Olivier with occasional rapid interjections also courtesy of Jack never seems to be cluttered.
The quartet performances are delightful, both 'Aisha, and 'Dreamsville' see Jack playing a nylon string guitar, a sound which works very well indeed with the harmonica.
The arrangements of 'The Things They Did Last Summer', 'Remember', Parisian Lady', and 'Skylark' follow similar patterns beginning with the melody stated on the guitar before being joined by the other members of the ensemble, and why not, it works and it doesn't become tiresome,
Jack's skills on the guitar sees to that. His playing is melodic yet virtuosic with a strong sense of harmony yet it is edgy and at times a little dangerous, sometimes you are not quite sure what you are going to get.
As you can probably tell from reading this review, I liked this album. Jack Wilkins is a name I am familiar with, he is often featured in the pages of this magazine and he has performed over in the UK a number of times. This album is however my first true encounter with Jack's playing, I'm impressed. Not only will I continue to play this album I shall definitely search out some others.
Recommended.

Darren Dutson Bromley Just Jazz Guitar February 2016