Bennie Wallace: BackCountry Jazz with Herlin Riley

Bennie Wallace brings his BackCountry Jazz ensemble to Dizzy’s Club for a late set celebrating French Postcard, the inaugural release from BackCountry Jazz Records. The tenor saxophonist leads a six-piece band with guitarist Anthony Wilson, vibraphonist Simon Moullier, pianist Donald Vega, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Herlin Riley. It is a full-band presentation built around the music of the new record, with Riley featured as Wallace’s billed guest collaborator.

Wallace comes from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and has developed a singular tenor voice that Blue Note describes as mixing “touches of New Orleans R&B and a healthy dose of humor.” His early reception was formidable: New York Arts Journal called him “the most important reed player since Dolphy’s and Coleman’s startling work in the early sixties.” Over his career, he has worked with Monty Alexander, Sheila Jordan, George Gruntz, Chick Corea, John Scofield and Jimmy Knepper. Most of this current group have made music together for decades, while Moullier is the newer partner in the band. Reviews of French Postcard call it “a formidably gorgeous-sounding record,” praising the musicians’ dependable playing, clear sense of space and perspective, and the expanded lineup’s “sonic integrity.”