Legendary jazz bassist Gene Perla has teamed up with a pair of rising jazz talents and a stalwart drummer to form the Horizons Quartet. Co-founded by saxophonist Dan Wilkins and pianist James Collins, and anchored by Perla and celebrated drummer Byron Landham, this new musical iteration will release their self-titled debut on June 25, 2021 on Perla's own PM Records. There is a pre-release show planned at Chris' Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia on June 10th with an official release show at the iconic Deer Head Inn, located in Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania to take place on June 27th.   

This self-titled debut features an all-original program composed and conceived by Wilkins, who is a highly sought-after and acclaimed player based in Eastern Pennsylvania. Over the past several years, Wilkins has toured Europe extensively with his father Skip Wilkins, and has appeared on three recordings with him including Father and Son (2012), Someday (2019) and Czech Wishes (2019). Now, with his peer, pianist James Collins, he steps into the driver's seat with Horizons Quartet, and shines brightly alongside the two veteran rhythmic pillars, Perla and Landham. Landham has played with a "who's who" of jazz greats including Betty Carter, Houston Person, Joey DeFrancesco, and many others.

Gene Perla is a bonafide bass legend with a mile-long resumé that includes stints with Sarah Vaughan, Jimmy Cobb and Miles Davis. Perla famously played alongside Dave Liebman on Elvin Jones’ immortal Live at the Lighthouse (1973). On that gig, Liebman shared that he was looking for the right label to release his then-new live album, Open Sky (1973). Perla took the question to heart and in response he started his own record label, PM Records with Open Sky as its inaugural release. Decades later, PM Records remains an active and vital entity, with Horizons Quartet its latest offering. Perla and Wilkins have a long-standing relationship originally stemming from their geographic location - both are known to play the Deer Head Inn- and they have collaborated in various settings over the years.

"From the first days of meeting and playing with Dan I felt an old soul present. It's so great to find a youngster who thinks before playing. Miles was a master at dealing with space. I was told that he once said to a stymied musician, "When you think of something to play, don't play it." And Byron is a blast to hit with. From beat one, the pocket was there," said Perla of the newly formed group. "This is a fun quartet to make music with."

As soon as we mention the Deer Head Inn, the jazz readers of these pages will realize that the Horizons Quartet are local to this writer.  Yet, keep in mind that the venue is home to many reputable musicians and a gig location for many prominent NYC-based musicians.  After all, NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman calls it home. The owner of this record label (begun in 1973 for Dave Liebman’s Open Sky) and the bassist for the quartet, octogenarian Gene Perla, has played alongside Sarah Vaughan, Jimmy Cobb and Miles Davis, and with Liebman on Elvin Jones’ classic Live at the Lighthouse. The drummer, Byron Landham, has played with Betty Carter, Houston Person, and fellow Philly native Joey DeFrancesco. Yet this is the first recording together for the rhythm tandem.  That brings us to the two younger co-founders, saxophonist Dan Wilkins and pianist James Collins. Wilkins, though not yet 30, composed all eight selections on this self-titled debut, and his father, the pianist Skip Wilkins, a favorite son of the Deer Head Inn, is also a longtime professor of music at nearby Lafayette College. Collins has long been inspired by Landham, even before studying at Temple University where the drummer is on faculty.  He and Wilkins have been gigging in and around Philadelphia since 2015.

This is a straight-ahead session, steeped in beautiful, lyrical tonality. “Spiraling” begins with Wilkins’ full-bodied soprano set against Landham’s crashing cymbals, Perla’s steady propulsion, and Collins’ piano evoking Trane’s take on “Afro Blue.” It evolves as a showcase for Wilkins’ many runs and solos from each member. His soprano continues to soar expressively on “The Blade’s Proposition,” a moodier, more atmospheric piece that also builds to some intense moments, with Collins on Fender Rhodes setting him off against a subtle electric sound palette. “Marionettes” steps down further into a noirish feel of a late-night club with Collins’ playing sensitively and beautifully underneath Wilkins’ who reaches every note and more on the tenor this time.

Wilkins returns to soprano on “Benediction of the Moon,” an expansive piece bearing one of the album’s more indelible themes and more Liebman-inspired soprano excursions. “Billows” is an even more haunting ballad than “Marionettes,” also delivered via Wilkins’ rich, purely toned soprano that leaves some notes seemingly suspended in air minutes on end. Perla adds his lyrical plucking while Collins and Landham play with remarkable restraint, the former offering some glistening passages midway through. The calm sets the stage for the bop fueled “Get to the Point,” where Wilkins goes from his normal smooth into aggressive mode on the soprano following a vibrant piano intro from Collins. “Gaia’s Blessing” is highly melodic, rendered with tenor over Rhodes while the closer, “Kindling of the Phoenix” has Collins in some of his most shimmering moments, accompanying Wilkins’ tenor on the acoustic piano.  A piece like this will remind of those great albums from the late ‘50’s when Red Garland accompanied John Coltrane.  Yet, other pieces like “Billows,” “Benediction of the Moon” and “The Blade’s Proposition” carry a more contemporary feel. That’s appropriate given the two generations of musicians in the quartet.  They find a fine balance and deliver highly expressive statements on this auspicious debut.
By Jim Hynes

HORIZONS QUARTET – PM Records

Dan Wilkins, tenor & soprano saxophones/composer; James Collins, piano/Fender Rhodes; Gene Perla, bass; Byron Landham, drums.

All compositions featured by Horizons Quartet were written by thirty-year-old Dan Wilkins.  He opens this energetic album with a tune called “Spiraling,” presenting us with a melody that circles from his tenor saxophone and inspires the others to join in.  The group is off and running.  When extraordinary pianist, James Collins along with Wilkins, decided to put a band together, they wanted their rhythm section to include the caliber of musicians that had inspired them to play jazz.  Collins had been inspired by celebrated Philly-based drummer Byron Landham, who has toured with Betty Carter and Houston Person, as well as working with organ icon, Joey DeFrancesco.  You can hear his power and precision during a solo on this first composition.  They also included bassist Gene Perla, who is a master musician and has played with Sarah Vaughan, Jimmy Cobb and Miles Davis.  At eighty-one, he still burns on the bass.

One thing I noted, this quartet loves to build the tension and grow the music.  These arrangements are rich with energy and this multi-generational quartet offers us over an hour of exquisite jazz, mostly straight-ahead, well-composed and well-interpreted original music.  Arrangers Wilkins and Collins, allow each talent to express themselves vividly for our listening pleasure.  The quartet, as a whole, moves like a well-oiled engine, generating power, improvisation and precision that infuses each composition.  Every tune is enjoyable, but some of my favorites are “Benediction of the Moon” and “Get the Point” that begins with a drum solo where Byron Landham sets the tempo and the groove.  James Collins takes off like a rocket on piano and Perla pushes him ahead, fueling his flight with bass tenacity.  Dan Wilkins arrives, shooting flames out of his saxophone.  Finally, Landham is left alone in the spotlight to solo and introduce us to his powerful and relentless drum techniques.  Yes!  I “Get the Point.”  “Gaia’s Blessing” brings us ballad relief, with Collins turning to the sparkling tones of a Fender Rhodes to interpret this pretty tune.  Who doesn’t love a good jazz waltz?  They close with “Kindling of the Phoenix” and I’m left with a feeling of complete satisfaction.
By Dee Dee McNeil

Tracks
1. Spiraling 2. The Blades Proposition 3. Marionettes 4. Benediction Of The Moon 5. Billows 6. Get The Point 7. Gaia's Blessing 8. Kindling Of The Phoenix

Musicians
Dan Wilkins - tenor sax, soprano sax
James Collins - piano, Fender-Rhodes (2,7)
Gene Perla - double bass
Byron Landham - drums

Record Label: PM Records
Recorded January 3-4, 2020, at Turtle Studios, Philadelphia, PA
Publication Date: June 25, 2021

It was at the iconic Deer Head Inn club in Pocono Mountains, Delaware that young Dan Wilkins made the decision to become a jazz instrumentalist and composer, attending a 2007 performance and masterclass by Dave Liebman and Marc Copland.

In recent years, Wilkins has toured extensively in Europe with his father Skip Wilkins, (the latter plays in Europe so regularly that he maintains a residence in Prague) and has appeared on three recordings with him, including "Father and Son" (2012), “Someday” (2019) and “Czech Wishes” (2019).

Collins and Wilkins met in Philadelphia in 2014, following their respective undergraduate jazz studies at Temple University and the Manhattan School of Music. Since 2015 they have been playing together. In 2019 Collins and Wilkins came up with the idea to form a band that would feature WIlkins original music. For this they had the collaboration of the octogenarian and legendary bassist Gene Perla (Sarah Vaughan, Jimmy Cobb and Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Elvin Jones) and the great Byron Landham (Betty Carter, Huston Person, Joey DeFrancesco) on drums. The name chosen was "Horizons Quartet".

Wilkins' music, inspired by his other passion, oil painting, seeks to capture different images, presenting harmonic landscapes traveling on meditative rhythms. The name "Horizons Quartet" fits the vision of music, looking back and forth in search of depth and new paths.

The eight songs on the album are composed by Wilkins and the arrangements are by Wilkins himself and Collins.

The album begins with the "Spiraling". The Coltrenian spirit flies in the studio and anticipates what the rest of the album will bring us. We couldn't start better. Ten minutes of great intensity.

The Wilkins soprano soars to the skies on “The Blades Proposition” and blends in seamlessly with the other accompanists.

In "Marionettes" he plays the tenor and his companions, especially Perla and Landham show a total chemistry, as if they had played together for a long time and the reality is that this is the first time they have done it together.

Not everything is intensity on the album, there are also moments for lighter pieces like “Benediction Of The Moon” or rhythmic full of swing like “Kindling of the Phoenix” demonstrating the rapport of the group as a whole.

"Billows" is a beautiful and haunting ballad where Wilkins once again proves his worth and versatility.

"Get the Point" begins with a solo by Landham on drums and Wilkins immediately sets the tone for the soprano to follow the speed and takes over this theme thanks to the rhythm section that surpasses itself.

To recover what better than the contemplative "Gaia's Blessing", another beautiful ballad.

As Wilkins says "Creating music, at its best, has always been a visually inspired and viscerally cinematic experience for me. The interplay of harmony and melody paints a picture that, when animated and balanced by a stable core of rhythm, sets the stage for a story to unfold. "

This is this work, paintings painted with musical notes.
The Jazz Room