Saxophonist/flutist Steve Wilson reflects on a lifetime of indelible musical memories on his breathtaking new album, out May 1, 2026
Enduring Sonance (Smoke Sessions Records) features Renee Rosnes, Joe Locke, Jay Anderson and Kendrick Scott playing some of Wilson’s favorite songs spanning genres and decades
Album Release Concerts at SMOKE Jazz Club in New York City, April 29-May 3, 2026
NEW YORK, NY (For Release 02.19.26) — Certain songs have a way of insinuating themselves into our imaginations, leaving a lasting impression that continues to ring in our ears long after we’ve last heard them – sometimes for the rest of our lives. On his breathtaking new album, Enduring Sonance, veteran saxophonist and flutist Steve Wilson celebrates some of the indelible compositions that he’s cherished over the course of his musical life.
“Some of the tunes on this record have stayed with me for, in some cases, over 50 years from the time that I first heard them,” Wilson says. “I wanted to put some music out there that people can connect with, no matter what kind of music they like.”
Enduring Sonance, due out May 1, 2026, from Smoke Sessions Records, was initially conceived in the tradition of the ballads record. But Wilson quickly realized that the word “ballad” was inadequate to describe the album that he envisioned. What was in his mind had more to do with a sense of lyricism that makes a song resonant and memorable, regardless of tempo, style, genre, or sentiment.
With that in mind, Wilson assembled a stellar band whose members share his own unique ability to delve into the heart of a song and discover the depths of emotion and lyricism inside it: vibraphonist Joe Locke, bassist Jay Anderson, drummer Kendrick Scott, and pianist Renee Rosnes, who also contributed the album’s sensitive arrangements. On two pieces, they’re joined by French horn virtuoso Kevin Newton of Imani Winds.
His repertoire for the session would be a deeply personal one, drawing on great contemporary jazz composers with whom he’s worked closely—Billy Childs, George Cables—along with soulful songwriters from the worlds of pop music and cinema—Gino Vannelli, Michel Legrand—and eclectic masters whose music defies easy categorization—Quincy Jones, Milton Nascimento, among others.
The album’s title, at its most literal level, is a straightforward, if poetic, description of Wilson’s concept: sonance is simply the quality of making sound, with a suggestion of lasting resonance and a nod to Jackie McLean’s 1962 classic, A Fickle Sonance. Enduring reflects the staying power that these songs have had in his life.
But it also carries a suggestion of the longstanding relationships within the group. With the exception of Newton, the prolific Wilson has shared countless hours on stages and in studios with these musicians to varying but meaningful degrees. Most notably, he has known Rosnes for nearly four decades, since both joined the ranks of Out of the Blue (OTB), the band of young lions founded by Blue Note Records in the mid-80s to showcase its then-new generation of artists. She not only arranged the music for the album, but also suggested Milton Nascimento’s “Francisco,” the album’s mesmerizing finale.
“As the repertoire started to reveal itself, I heard everyone’s sound in my head,” Wilson explains. “It wasn’t something I had to think long and hard about. Renee and I have worked together for so long, and she’s such a great arranger and composer, along with being a gifted pianist. Joe and I connect on diverse styles and genres of music, both of us being children of the ‘60s and ‘70s. I really wanted what he could bring in terms of his musical sensibility and spirituality.”
Wilson and Anderson have spent years playing together in the revered Maria Schneider Orchestra. “I tell people all the time that Jay is the secret sauce of that band,” he says. “He finds beautiful contrapuntal melodies that move the music underneath. Even if people may not be aware of it, as a bassist, he gives the music a flow.”
A surging rhythm initiates Billy Childs’s “Quiet Girl” to open the album, Newton’s horn adding subtle, lush orchestral colors that hint at the composer’s parallel life in the classical realm. As a longtime member of Childs’s quartet, Wilson had played the song with the pianist many times and recorded it with him on the 2020 album Acceptance. “I’ve always loved this tune because it has such a beautiful simplicity to the melody and a subtle complexity to the harmonies that speaks to Billy’s genius as a composer.”
Wilson has also had the good fortune to play “Helen’s Song” with its composer, legendary pianist George Cables. Wilson’s rendition expressively radiates the warmth and joy of the original, a loving dedication to Cables’ wife. It’s a song that has stuck with him since its initial release in 1991. Eliane Elias’ “A Volta” didn’t come along till a decade later, on 2002’s Kissed by Nature, but lodged itself just as immediately in Wilson’s inner songbook.
The saxophonist was, of course, introduced to Michel Legrand’s “Pieces of Dreams” through Stanley Turrentine’s classic interpretation, but it was another version that convinced him to record it here. “I came across a clip of Johnny Mathis singing it on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,” Wilson recalls. “It was just stunning and reignited my love of the tune.”
“How Long?” comes from the soundtrack of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, composed by the director’s father, the undersung bassist Bill Lee. The original featured saxophonists Branford Marsalis and Donald Harrison, which attracted Wilson’s attention as strongly as its bold lament of a melody. Both Quincy Jones’s “The Eyes of Love” and Gino Vannelli’s “The Surest Things Can Change” made an impression on Wilson as a teenager in the ‘70s. The band renders the former as a swooning ballad, the latter as an intoxicating R&B groove, with Rosnes on Rhodes.
“Enduring Sonance” was produced by Paul Stache, and recorded in New York City. Available on limited edition LP, CD and audiophile HD formats.
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