Perhaps it's because he stayed put in Chicago while so many of his AACM colleagues moved to New York, or maybe because he's a bit younger than his more well-known compatriots, but tenor saxophonist Edward Wilkerson Jr. has never gotten the exposure his talents deserve. In the '80s, when N.Y.C.-based saxophonist and bandleader David Murray was getting raves for his octet work, Wilkerson's 8 Bold Souls were making music every bit as profound. Indeed, Wilkerson's outfit outshone Murray's in many ways -- in terms of compositional rigor and ensemble precision 8 Bold Souls was far superior to Murray's band -- yet they got none of the critical attention afforded that overly loose unit. The band first came together in January 1985 for a series of Thursday night concerts at the downtown Chicago performance venue Chicago Filmmakers.

Perhaps it's because he stayed put in Chicago while so many of his AACM colleagues moved to New York, or maybe because he's a bit younger than his more well-known compatriots, but tenor saxophonist Edward Wilkerson Jr. has never gotten the exposure his talents deserve. In the '80s, when N.Y.C.-based saxophonist and bandleader David Murray was getting raves for his octet work, Wilkerson's 8 Bold Souls were making music every bit as profound. Indeed, Wilkerson's outfit outshone Murray's in many ways -- in terms of compositional rigor and ensemble precision 8 Bold Souls was far superior to Murray's band -- yet they got none of the critical attention afforded that overly loose unit. The band first came together in January 1985 for a series of Thursday night concerts at the downtown Chicago performance venue Chicago Filmmakers. The concerts themselves were entitled New Music for 8 Bold Souls; the name stuck. Wilkerson's energetic tenor is the dominant solo voice; as impressive a player as he is, however, 8 Bold Souls is primarily a compositional vehicle (to hear Wilkerson in top improvisational form, hear the three-piece Ethnic Heritage Ensemble). The band showcases the leader's good-humored, highly ambitious, and multi-faceted writing style. Wilkerson exploits the band's unusual instrumentation, gleaning unusual timbres from a combination that emphasizes the lower end of the tonal spectrum (Wilkerson uses both double bass and tuba). The band has been intermittently active since their formation. They recorded a pair of albums for the Arabesque label in the early '90s, but their next, (Last Option), did not appear until 1999 on the Chicago-based Thrill Jockey label. The group seems to have undergone something of a rebirth at the turn of the millennium; in addition to the new album, in 2001 they performed at Chicago's Symphony Center and several festivals, including one in Lisbon, Portugal. ~ Chris Kelsey, All Music Guide