At the time that this CD, his debut as a leader, was released,
Will Vinson was primarily known in New York City. Born and raised in England,
Vinson moved to NYC in 1999 and has played locally there ever since while occasionally returning to England. His alto and soprano playing is thoughtful yet harmonically advanced, at times hinting at
Branford Marsalis and
Wayne Shorter but not copying either. He performs eight of his compositions with like-minded young players including pianist-keyboardist
Aaron Parks and guitarist Sandra Hempel. None of his rather dry originals (some of which use complex time signatures) are likely to become standards but they work well in this setting where the emphasis is on individual improvised statements.
Vinson constantly pushes himself and comes up with consistently original ideas. Clearly he has a potentially significant future.