Sarah Wilson - Incandescence (2025)

Sarah Wilson, trumpet/composer; Lisa Mezzacappa, bass; Jon Arkin & Tim Bulkley, drums; John Schott, guitar; Kasey Knudsen, alto saxophone; Mara Fox, trombone.

The Bay Area-based Sarah Wilson is a trumpeter and composer who had an epiphany in 2023 while she was admiring the paintings of Viennese artist Thomas Reinhold, an artist in residence in Krems, Austria. The art moved her dramatically and, while overseas, she was inspired to compose new music for her sextet called Brass Tonic.

Three compositions on her current “Incandescence” album are the results of that Austrian residency; “Architecture in Space” is one of them. It opens this recent release by Wilson and is one of her more melodious compositions. Tim Bulkley is strong throughout this arrangement, spurring the music forward on his trap drums. Lisa Mezzacappa plays double bass and makes a solo improvisational statement that is quite impressive.

Wilson has a history of composing music in response to visual art. From 2011 until 2012, she was an artist fellow at San Francisco’s de Young Museum. At that time, she collaborated on music for an aerial dance performance inspired by the Harlem Renaissance painter, Aaron Douglas. One of the pieces on Wilson’s 2010 album was titled “Trapeze Project” and she drew inspiration from a sculpture by Nicolas African in the de Young’s collection. The tune was called, “She Stands in a Room.”

Brass Tonic is a fairly new ensemble founded by Sarah Wilson. Established in 2022, Wilson had dreamed of this concept band for two decades, ever since she composed for NYC drummer Kenny Wollesen’s protest-minded marching jazz band.

“Coming from that background of street theater and traditional New Orleans music … marching band music has to be simple, but I wanted to hone it into more developed music with a similar vibe,” Sarah Wilson described her musical perspective.

Wilson’s other goal was to be female-inclusive, hiring women to be part of her band, especially horn players, who she feels are often neglected from the hiring pool by orchestras and big bands. Mara Fox is on trombone and Kasey Knudsen plays alto saxophone.

At the State Gallery of Lower Austria, Wilson was given an opportunity to set up a mobile studio in the gallery. The purpose was to write her original music in real time, interacting directly with the paintings. That’s how she created this new album.~Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil