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<\/a><\/p>\n Saxophonist\/flutist Steve Wilson reflects on a lifetime of indelible musical memories on his breathtaking new album, out May 1, 2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Enduring Sonance (Smoke Sessions Records) features Renee Rosnes, Joe Locke, Jay Anderson and Kendrick Scott playing some of Wilson\u2019s favorite songs spanning genres and decades<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Album Release Concerts at SMOKE Jazz Club in New York City, April 29-May 3, 2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n NEW YORK, NY (For Release 02.19.26) \u2014 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\u2019ve last heard them \u2013 sometimes for the rest of our lives. On his breathtaking new album, Enduring Sonance<\/strong><\/em>, veteran saxophonist and flutist Steve Wilson<\/strong> celebrates some of the indelible compositions that he\u2019s cherished over the course of his musical life.<\/p>\n \u201cSome 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,\u201d Wilson says. \u201cI wanted to put some music out there that people can connect with, no matter what kind of music they like.\u201d<\/p>\n Enduring Sonance<\/strong><\/em>, 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 \u201cballad\u201d 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s sensitive arrangements. On two pieces, they\u2019re joined by French horn virtuoso Kevin Newton of Imani Winds.<\/p>\n His repertoire for the session would be a deeply personal one, drawing on great contemporary jazz composers with whom he\u2019s worked closely\u2014Billy Childs, George Cables\u2014along with soulful songwriters from the worlds of pop music and cinema\u2014Gino Vannelli, Michel Legrand\u2014and eclectic masters whose music defies easy categorization\u2014Quincy Jones, Milton Nascimento, among others.<\/p>\n The album\u2019s title, at its most literal level, is a straightforward, if poetic, description of Wilson\u2019s concept: sonance is simply the quality of making sound, with a suggestion of lasting resonance and a nod to Jackie McLean\u2019s 1962 classic, A Fickle Sonance. Enduring reflects the staying power that these songs have had in his life.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s \u201cFrancisco,\u201d the album\u2019s mesmerizing finale.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the repertoire started to reveal itself, I heard everyone\u2019s sound in my head,\u201d Wilson explains. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t something I had to think long and hard about. Renee and I have worked together for so long, and she\u2019s 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 \u201860s and \u201870s. I really wanted what he could bring in terms of his musical sensibility and spirituality.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilson and Anderson have spent years playing together in the revered Maria Schneider Orchestra. \u201cI tell people all the time that Jay is the secret sauce of that band,\u201d he says. \u201cHe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n A surging rhythm initiates Billy Childs\u2019s \u201cQuiet Girl\u201d to open the album, Newton\u2019s horn adding subtle, lush orchestral colors that hint at the composer\u2019s parallel life in the classical realm. As a longtime member of Childs\u2019s quartet, Wilson had played the song with the pianist many times and recorded it with him on the 2020 album Acceptance. \u201cI\u2019ve 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\u2019s genius as a composer.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilson has also had the good fortune to play \u201cHelen\u2019s Song\u201d with its composer, legendary pianist George Cables. Wilson\u2019s rendition expressively radiates the warmth and joy of the original, a loving dedication to Cables\u2019 wife. It\u2019s a song that has stuck with him since its initial release in 1991. Eliane Elias\u2019 \u201cA Volta\u201d didn\u2019t come along till a decade later, on 2002\u2019s Kissed by Nature, but lodged itself just as immediately in Wilson\u2019s inner songbook.<\/p>\n The saxophonist was, of course, introduced to Michel Legrand\u2019s \u201cPieces of Dreams\u201d through Stanley Turrentine\u2019s classic interpretation, but it was another version that convinced him to record it here. \u201cI came across a clip of Johnny Mathis singing it on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,\u201d Wilson recalls. \u201cIt was just stunning and reignited my love of the tune.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow Long?\u201d comes from the soundtrack of Spike Lee\u2019s Do the Right Thing, composed by the director\u2019s father, the undersung bassist Bill Lee. The original featured saxophonists Branford Marsalis and Donald Harrison, which attracted Wilson\u2019s attention as strongly as its bold lament of a melody. Both Quincy Jones\u2019s \u201cThe Eyes of Love\u201d and Gino Vannelli\u2019s \u201cThe Surest Things Can Change\u201d made an impression on Wilson as a teenager in the \u201870s. The band renders the former as a swooning ballad, the latter as an intoxicating R&B groove, with Rosnes on Rhodes.<\/p>\n \u201cEnduring Sonance\u201d<\/strong><\/em> was produced by Paul Stache, and recorded in New York City. Available on limited edition LP, CD and audiophile HD formats.<\/p>\n For more information on other\u00a0Smoke Sessions Records\u00a0<\/strong>releases, please visit: Amt Public Relations<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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