Corey Wilkes

08.21.08 | "Drop It" Review
At just 29 years of age, Corey Wilkes has emerged as the next big thing in the trumpet world. This isn't a career path similar to Wynton Marsalis, nor Roy Harper, for that matter. Wilkes, an Illinois native, may be the reincarnation of the master, Lester Bowie. In fact, he has distinguished himself in the trumpet seat for Art Ensemble of Chicago and with Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensembles. He can also be heard with Rob Marzurek's Exploding Star Orchestra, Nicole Mitchell, Evan Parker, DJ Logic, and Tortoise.

Certainly with that resume, more out than in might be expected. But Wilkes is no neo-con, and on Drop It he sets the 'way-back' machine to somewhere in the fuzzy 1970s and '80s when jazz was smeared into funk and the deep groove was the order of the day.

This “I'm no neo-con” attitude is evident from the first spoken-word track, as Miyanda Wilson delivers Langston Hughes' “Trumpet Player,” with Wilkes on muted trumpet response. The scene turns towards the late Miles Davis on “Sonata In the Key of Jack Daniels.” Former Davis sideman Robert Irving III adds Fender Rhodes piano to this somewhat smooth-sounding composition. Fans of Wilkes' free work will certainly be scratching their heads as the song ends with a familiar radio fade. Likewise, “Return 2 Sender” plays the same cool game, making music that doubles for easily passed-over background sounds.

Never fear. Wilkes may just be toying with his listeners, as he drops some hipper than hip sounds on the funk-laden title track with wah-wah trumpet effects. The track is repeated live at the disc's end, with all the hip-hop fervor drummer Jeremy Clemmons can muster. The trumpet effects are then doubled on “Ubiquitous Budafly,” with Dee Alexander's wordless vocals bubbling in tandem with Wilkes' playing. Some solid, Kenny Garrett-like alto playing from Jabari Liu compliments the track.

Wilkes' opening salvo in the jazz culture wars is an uneven affair, not unlike late Miles Davis efforts. Discerning listeners can take away some skilled playing and new fans can easily sign up with this very accessible recording.

-Mark Corroto
All About Jazz

07.17.08 | Wilkes sets the ultimate scene at JVC jazz fest
There are few musicians who qualify as “on the scene” more than Corey Wilkes — wherever the young trumpeter is, you can be sure there’s a party close by.

Though his keenness to reach a wide audience is transparent — through high-energy blowing and frequent deployment of simultaneous multi-horn action, not to mention a current predilection for smooth jazz directions — Wilkes has a sound pedigree performing with some uncompromising forces in creative music.

Chief of these is saxophonist/composer Roscoe Mitchell, who offered Wilkes an unenviable gig with the Art Ensemble of Chicago in 2003 — unenviable because the Art Ensemble’s previous trumpeter was Lester Bowie, perhaps the most singularly original stylist on that instrument to emerge since Louis Armstrong. Though Wilkes has a less elliptical approach than Bowie, exposure to the Art Ensemble’s expressionism and use of space forced Wilkes to listen and react in a new way and leaven his post-bop chops with less linear sound color techniques.

In a year that has seen him record with freejazz saxophonist Evan Parker for ECM and with Chicago’s Ethic Heritage Ensemble, as well as in hiphop/soul-jazz context with Ig Culture (on Japanese label Freedom School), Wilkes’ chief news is the release of “Drop It” his debut as a leader for Delmark records.

The new disc reveals Wilkes’ love of language, already evident to followers of his group Black Slang, as it opens with a sultry recitation of Langston Hughes’ poetry by Miyanda Wilson, encircled by Wilkes muted trumpet obliggatos. Elsewhere is the feminist backlash rap of “Funkier Than a Mosquita’s Tweeter” with a deliciously contemptuous vocal by Dee Alexander, recalling the wordplay of Gene McDaniel’s cynical hit “Compared to What?”

In the company of a raft of now generation improvisers including altoist Jabari Liu and New York based wunderkind Chelsea Baratz, as well as seasoned elder Robert Irving III on keys, Wilkes balances his fiery side with mellower statements on “Touch”, “Searchin’ ” and fusion fancies such as “Ubiquitous Budafly.”

Known for corralling whatever talent pool is within his orbit, including the 10 musicians that join him on “Drop It,” Wilkes’ shows at Andy’s Jazz Club on Hubbard Street promise a more intimate gathering in a quartet format, notwithstanding special guest Greg Osby. The presence of alto sax innovator Osby make these gigs a must-see amongst Wilkes’ many local gigs, which have included a recent residency at Joe Segal’s revived Jazz Showcase. (Andy’s took up the slack in the local scene in the 18 months that Segal’s was shuttered and has increased its profile as a venue presenting national and international acts.)

Osby, now 47, drew inspiration from Chicago originals Von Freeman, Muhal Richard Abrams and Andrew Hill, to forge an unique, uncompromising style that he and Steve Coleman came to call M-Base (a mnemonic for Macro Basic Array of Structured Extemporization). Osby was melding jazz with rap back in the early ’90s and will provide a fine foil for Wilkes, pushing him to resist cliche at every turn.

-Michael Jackson
Chicago Sun-Times

07.12.08 | Wilkes takes Jazz Showcase on dynamic local trail
There once was a time when the choice slot at the Jazz Showcase was reserved for out-of-town stars.

That era ended Thursday evening, when Chicagoan Corey Wilkes kicked off a four-night engagement in Chicago's most high-profile jazz room. The change of policy is one of several at the Showcase, which has been redefining itself since recently moving into new quarters in the South Loop.

One hardly could think of a stronger choice to help the Showcase become a bit more inclusive (and reach a younger audience). Anyone who has followed the trumpeter over the past few years knows that he has emerged as an increasingly potent force in both mainstream and experimental settings.

His creative work with the Art Ensemble of Chicago has brought him to the attention of listeners around the world. His newly released debut recording as bandleader, "Drop It" (on Delmark Records), documents the broadening range of his stylistic vocabulary.

The first set Wilkes played on Thursday night suggested he was ready for prime time:

Wilkes, leading a quintet, opened the show with a characteristically extroverted treatment of Horace Silver's "Nica's Dream," his technique as fluid as his sound was huge. But for all the muscularity of this performance, it was something of a warm-up for the main event: repertoire from "Drop It."

In "Remy's Revenge," one of the most dynamic tracks from the CD, Wilkes and tenor saxophonist Kevin Nabors opened at the fortissimo level and cranked it up from there. Their clarion horn calls evoked the spirit of the South Side avant-garde, while their hard-charging improvisations showed conversance with classic bebop.

But there were moments of lyric poetry in this show, too, particularly in Wilkes' "Touch." Though the piece subtly recalls the tune "It's a New Day," by trumpeter Maurice Brown, its idiosyncrasies of phrase point to Wilkes' craft as writer.

-Howard Reich
Chicago Tribune

06.28.08 | Corey Wilkes "Drop It"
For the last couple of years I've been receiving regular shipments of music from the Chicago based jazz and blues label Delmark Records. Practically every month an envelope shows up in the mail containing the past, present, and future of music from the city which is arguably the crucible of American jazz and urban blues. I can usually count on a couple of CDs of re-mastered jazz style recordings, a live recording of a recent blues gig in Chicago (DVD and CD), and a contemporary jazz recording.

I have to admit that initially listening to jazz was like listening to a foreign language. While some of the earlier recordings were relatively straight forward and deciphering their syntax didn't take very long, recordings from the Art Ensemble Of Chicago era and latter were a different story. Nothing I had ever listened to prepared me for that experience, in fact I found that in order to properly appreciate it I needed to let go of all my preconceptions of what constituted music. Like abstract painters the majority of these men and women were less concerned with form than they were with intent.

That's not to say there is no structure to this work, it's merely one I wasn't familiar with. After listening and not understanding, gradually I began to hear with new ears and comprehend what was happening with the music. Understanding has led to appreciation, not only for the avant-garde, but for all jazz. So when I listen to something like Corey Wilkes' latest release on Delmark, Drop It, I'm able to appreciate nuances in his music that I might have previously missed.

You see, Corey Wilkes has looked at jazz music, all of jazz music, found bits and pieces that he likes from various eras throughout the twentieth century, and blended them together. Not being content with limiting himself to jazz, he's also looked around at the other African American music and decided that it's all part of jazz. Listen to some of the cuts on Drop It and you're going to hear a funk base line sneaking under his trumpet solo in one song, some seriously tribal drums shaking the foundations of another song, and some mean trumpet and flugelhorn playing.

Now I have to admit that I have a hard time with the way some people play trumpet. They play it like rock guitar heroes play electric leads: fast, high pitched, and furious to the point where it becomes just so much noise pollution. That's not the case with Corey Wilkes as he's more than just an excellent trumpet player, he's also a band leader and composer. Of the eleven songs on Drop It Corey has written nine, and each one demonstrates the depth of the rapport he has with the music.

"Trumpet Player", the opening track on the disc, is a piece with lyrics by the great African-American writer Langston Hughes. It's actually a spoken word piece with Miyanda Wilson speaking Hughes' words over top of Wilkes' music. In part, an ode to an unknown trumpet player, "Trumpet Player" is also a history of the African-American experience in North America. While the words are a powerful element in their own right, the music that Wilkes has composed to accompany them are the extra ingredient that brings them alive for the listener by underscoring the emotions that run through them. So muted that at times it's almost impossible to hear, the music is an electrical current coursing through the lyric, illuminating and highlighting each event recounted by Ms. Wilson's recitation.

"Trumpet Player" stands in contrast to the other vocal piece on the disc, "Funkier than a Mosquita's Tweeter" by Ailene Bullock. This is a rambunctious funk/jazz fusion piece which takes on the attitudes of men who pretend to be free so they can take advantage of women. As the lyrics challenge men who extol the virtues of free love so they can get into a woman's pants, the music echoes the scorn Dee Alexander, the vocalist has for the man's hypocrisy. Here Corey's trumpet playing is shrill and harsh, but in the context of the song it makes perfect sense and sounds exactly right.

While none of the other songs have lyrics to act as a guide through the music, Corey Wilkes' compositions and arrangements are such that we can find our own way through the pieces. His trumpet, or flugelhorn, is our guide. Like Pied Piper of Bremen, he leads us through the various landscapes of his musical creations. Like the stirring resonance of a bugle sounding the charge or the gentle breath of wind through leaves, the sounds he generates are able to stir and calm our emotions. Yet no matter how he plays; soft, loud, fast, or slow, he holds our attention with the intricacies of his playing. Even when he is playing loud and shrill, he introduces cadences or phrasings that prevent the sound from becoming tedious or atonal.

As with any recording, I can't help but have a favourite cut on this disc, and in this case the live version of the title song "Drop It" takes that honour. For sheer exuberance, I don't know if I've ever had as much fun listening to a jazz tune. I don't seem to be alone in that sentiment, because Corey and his band have sure swept the listening crowd off their feet, as they are whooping and hollering with pleasure and excitement. You also get to hear Corey really cut loose on his horns during this track, and I don't think I've ever heard a freer, or more joyful sound, than the music he generates during his solos. His playing on this track is as much a celebration of being alive, as any Gospel track you'll hear is a celebration of the Lord.

Jazz music might sometimes sound like a language you don't understand, and perhaps you still won't understand the entire vocabulary, I know I don't, but as long as there are musicians like Corey Wilkes out there playing, you should have no problem understanding enough of what's being said to have a truly uplifting experience. Corey Wilkes' CD Drop It is one of the most exciting and exhilarating recordings, in any style or genre, that I've heard in years. Do yourself a favour and buy a ticket on the ride that he's offering, you won't regret it.

-Richard Marcus
Blog Critics Review

03.30.07 | Time to trumpet horn artistry of Corey Wilkes

During the past few years, Corey Wilkes has blossomed into one of the boldest, most versatile young trumpeters in Chicago jazz.

Whether inventing strangely innovative sounds with the Art Ensemble of Chicago or fronting a straight-ahead group at the Museum of Contemporary Art, he proves that a nimble technique and a sense of adventure can distinguish a musician from his peers.

This weekend, Wilkes presents his latest band -- Black Slang -- at HotHouse, a potentially excellent venue for it, considering the room's sightlines and emphasis on music (rather than conversation). Staffed by saxophonist Jabari Liu, percussionist Kahil El'Zabar, poet Khari B and African dancers, among others, Black Slang could be Wilkes' most stylistically wide-reaching ensemble yet.

Certainly it suggests another step in the trumpeter's ongoing evolution.


-Howard Reich
Chicago Tribune Arts Critic

01.01.07 | Corey Wilkes; Building His Scene - Downbeat Magazine

08.01.06 | A Hit: Tuesday's with Corey - Wilkes heats up as the sun descends at the MCA

A cool breeze blows in from the lake. The sun disappears slowly in the west.

And an exceptional jazz musician serenades his listeners, the city's skyline serving as backdrop.

Performance settings don't get much more idyllic than the scene at the Museum of Contemporary Art, which for several years has featured some of the city's best musicians during its summertime Tuesdays on the Terrace series.

On a recent Tuesday evening, it was standing-room-only for trumpeter Corey Wilkes, an increasingly important presence on Chicago's ever-expanding jazz landscape. Chicagoans clearly have discovered not only the allure of the MCA at sunset but the power of Wilkes' work, which straddles several jazz traditions and idioms.

In mainstream repertoire, Wilkes dispatched jazz standards with the authority of someone who has been playing them a lot longer than he has been alive. In funk-tinged and contemporary music, he broke free of jazz conventions more easily than many players of his generation.

Savvy performer that he is, Wilkes clung to familiar, fervently melodic tunes during the earliest portions of the evening, while visitors were dining and chatting. No need to disrupt the heavy socializing that was under way, Wilkes seemed to be saying.

Yet those who took a few moments to listen to Wilkes and his quartet heard something considerably more substantial than background music.

The long and fluid lines Wilkes brought to "On Green Dolphin Street," the lush textures the band created in "Caravan" and the detail and technical acuity of Wilkes' solos in these tunes, and others, easily could have withstood scrutiny in any jazz club in the city.

With the formidable Robert Irving III bringing ample virtuosity to electric keyboard, Charles Heath keeping time nimbly on drums and Junius Paul proving equally persuasive on stand-up bass and its electric counterpart, this quartet did not lack for drive or impact.

Later in the evening, as food was cleared away and hard-core listeners focused on the music, Wilkes and the band pushed into somewhat grittier fare. Nothing as radical as the music that Wilkes plays with the iconoclastic Art Ensemble of Chicago, of course, but oft-explosive, rhythmically agitated improvisation nonetheless.

Considering that players as esteemed as Fred Anderson will be appearing in future installments of the MCA's series, there should be a great deal of worthy listening ahead.

The only shortcoming to these offerings, in fact, is that they emerge only once a week.

With the kind of turnout the event draws, wouldn't an additional evening be a natural?

-Howard Reich
Chicago Tribune Arts Critic

06.19.06 | A Festival of Jazz Explorers Offers Adventure as Its Focus
...Roscoe Mitchell, leading a band he calls his Chicago Quartet. The performance was the evening's most impressively focused, and most dynamically broad. It began quietly, with Mr. Mitchell, on soprano, engaging in terse conversation with the trumpeter Corey Wilkes. Gradually the energy mounted, spurred largely by Mr. Wilkes, whose playing smartly balanced bravado, power and control.

-Nate Chinen
New York Times

06.15.06 | 50 Yard Line a Proving Ground for Young Talent
It was the kind of scene you read about in books and watch in the movies:

A young, up-and-coming Chicago musician plays an out-of-the-way club, bringing with him a few promising colleagues. And before you know it, listeners are savoring the thrilling sound of a new generation of jazz artists.

Perhaps no one in the audience at The 50 Yard Line, where Thursday night jazz sets have built a loyal following, expected anything as exuberant as the sounds that erupted during last week's set. Yet as previous visits have shown, the South Side club is becoming a hothouse for a rough-and-ready brand of Chicago jazz.

For the past couple of years, alto saxophonist Jabari Liu has been appearing in various settings across the city, jamming in clubs, playing in other musicians' bands, occasionally leading a group himself. But his date at The 50 Yard Line proved exceptional, for Liu led by far the best ensemble he ever has assembled.

The front line alone captured attention, since Liu was joined by the brilliant Chicago trumpeter Corey Wilkes and the very promising tenor saxophonist Sophie Faught.

Anyone who has followed the local scene in recent years already knows of Wilkes' versatility and virtuosity, the trumpeter proving as adept in mainstream, hard-bop bands as he is in experimental settings, such as the genre-bending Art Ensemble of Chicago. No doubt Wilkes collaborated with Liu as a gesture of support for a younger colleague who's currently a college student. One hardly can quantify what Liu learns by performing with a musician as musically creative and technically adept as Wilkes.

Tenor saxophonist Faught studies music at Indiana University, but she plays as if she grew up in South Side rooms like The 50 Yard Line. The depth of her tone, the maturity of her improvisations and the appealing idiosyncrasies of her phrases point to a young musician of considerable accomplishment and still more potential. Liu is lucky to have found her.

Together, Liu, Faught and Wilkes unleashed the energy and fervor of youth on a variety of bebop standards. Yes, the ensemble playing often was a bit messy, the musicians not always precisely certain when they were bringing a tune to a close.

But that's exactly what a room like The 50 Yard Line is designed for -- stretching out, experimenting, finding a voice.

In the case of Liu's new band, it wasn't just the front line that made the set memorable. Drummer David Scalia counterbalanced the volume and energy of his playing with more detail, clarity and intricacy than one expects from an emerging player. Bassist Junius Paul -- like Liu, another ascending figure on the Chicago jazz landscape -- kept time nimbly, pressing rhythmic momentum ever forward.

With sets like this, it's no wonder The 50 Yard Line has become a neighborhood draw: You never know what's going to happen, or exactly who's going to show up next.

-Howard Reich
Chicago Tribune

03.25.06 | Recent Jazz Explorations in Chicago
The most prominent figures to emerge from the AACM in the 1990s were Nicole Mitchell and Corey Wilkes. Mitchell is a flutist with a flair who, joined by bass and drums, offered a rousing set in New York at last year’s Vision Festival; back in Chicago at an AACM celebration, she and pianist Abrams created a long duet notable for its sensitive lyric probing. Events like these were vivid showcases for her technique and sustained creativity. She also composes for her Black Earth Ensemble, which includes younger players like trombonist Tony Herrera and bassist Darius Savage. While young trumpeter Wilkes has always demonstrated idiomatic mastery, lately his soloing with Roscoe Mitchell and others has presented true lyrical feeling. Recently he’s taken the trumpet chair in the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

- John Litweiler

02.27.06 | CD Review Roscoe Mitchell Quintet "Turn"
Even with four decades of involvement with creative improvised music, multi-instrumentalist and co-founder of the AACM Roscoe Mitchell forges onward, ever evolving and still vital. Despite having lost key compatriots from his seminal Vietnam-era revolution in sound with the passing of Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors Maghostut, Mitchell remains undaunted. He continues to maintain not only the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and his nonet, a.k.a. the Note Factory, but also his quintet, which is featured here.

With a mix of new faces and old, Mitchell’s quintet is a versatile and adept ensemble capable of handling anything the master throws its way. The youngest member is trumpeter Corey Wilkes, who now fills Lester Bowie’s chair in the Art Ensemble of Chicago. These are big shoes to fill and Wilkes handles himself admirably. No mere imitator, Wilkes has found his own sound within the post-AACM environment and is a suitable foil for Mitchell, who sounds as youthful and exuberant here as he has in years. Mitchell’s outré playing is more cerebral now than it was back in his revolutionary days, when the acrid tone of his alto sounded like it could peel paint, but his conception hasn’t changed. Wilkes’ brash and brassy torrents on the open horn alternate with his restrained, Harmon-muted statements, perfectly complementing the leader’s acerbic alto and dusky flute work, much as Bowie did in the past.

The rhythm section consists of Mitchell’s usual suspects, culled from the Note Factory: drummer Tani Tabbal, bassist Jaribu Shahid, and pianist Craig Taborn. Equally comfortable running down angular bop lines or simply abandoning rhythmic meter altogether, this trio understands Mitchell’s work better than anyone. All three have played with Mitchell for well over a decade and are fully vested in Mitchell’s creative ideology.

Mitchell is egalitarian almost to a fault, as the versatility on display here is somewhat staggering. The gritty electric bass led funk of “Rhine Ridge” sits side by side with the off-kilter Braxton-esque bass saxophone driven “March 2004”. Sandwiched between them is the ethereal, atmospheric “Page Two A” with bells, chimes, marimba, and mellifluous soprano all floating over a rubato pulse. “Quintet One”, “Quintet Nine”, and “Horner Mac” all feature snappy, crackling free-bop, making this session slightly more accessible than some of Mitchell’s previous efforts.

Mitchell demonstrates more than eclectic diversity in handling multiple styles of music by contributing a tune of direct lyricism so strong that the entire album is worth obtaining if only for this piece alone. “In Six” is quite possibly one of the most melodically assured pieces Mitchell has ever written. With its classical motif and delicate flute arpeggios, it is impeccably beautiful in its melodic simplicity. Wilkes’ plangent muted trumpet supports Mitchell’s stately variations while the rhythm section casually lulls the group forward with a languorous waltz.

Mitchell allows plenty of solo room for his band, despite the often short running time of the pieces. If there is any complaint to be had with the record it is that most of the tunes hover around three or four minutes apiece with two clocking in at just over a minute. For example, “Horner Mac”, with its unhinged free-bop attack, ends practically before it begins, just gaining momentum as it winds down. In contrast, a piece like “Take One”, a nine-minute circular breathing marathon of volcanic free jazz intensity, or the seven-minute closer, the melancholy free-form ballad “After”, more than make up for the miniatures that leave one desiring more.

Mitchell has traveled this well-worn path before, but with a discography constantly in flux, it’s nice to have an in-print album that captures the master in a variety of settings. Not without its flaws, but still a phenomenal introduction for novices and a highly recommended addition for admirers as well, Turn is one of Mitchell’s best albums to come along in years.

-Troy Collins
One Final Note

02.05.06 | Ethnic Heritage Ensemble; Sangha Cafe 2/4/06
The addition of trumpeter Corey Wilkes pushed the group towards the funk universe. He's an outrageous show-off, but that's not a criticism - given what he can do with a horn (or two, even) it's really something hearing him show off. I almost lost my girlfriend, but ultimately she decided he's not really her type... Anyway, he's got incredible chops (and be careful if you go hear him on a date)

-Jon Morris (Matis
D.C. Show Log

01.01.06 | Power Stronger Than Itself: Celebrating the AACM in Guelph
Corey Wilkes was up next, and delivered a solo that should forever remove “new” or any other qualifier from reference to the trumpeter’s AEC membership. Not only did he display a thorough understanding of Lester Bowie’s distillation of the jazz trumpet tradition, he applied it with the forcefulness of a Hannibal Marvin Peterson. Whenever Bowie got out on a limb, chops-wise, he could always rely on a smear of a bleat if his intonation or attack failed him. A technical juggernaut, Wilkes uses such devices solely as an aesthetic choice. Most importantly, there’s a spirit to his playing that was obviously inspired both Roscoe Mitchell, who then stepped up with a blistering statement that punctuated streams of notes with plangent cries, and Famoudou Don Moye, who was simply masterful throughout the concert.

The music downshifted into a collage, with Jarman playing birdcalls, conch shells and percussion, and Wilkes squawking softly. It may be a well-worn path for them, but the AEC nevertheless creates extraordinary momentum using tactics that leave many ensembles hopelessly mired. The fragments soon coalesced into long tones and sinewy melodies stated by Jarman on clarinet and Mitchell on soprano, supported by Moye’s brushwork and the arco bass lines of Jaribu Shahid, whose tenure with the AEC is even shorter than Wilkes’. Whereas the late Malachi Favors Maghostut provided a Wilbur Ware-like foundation, Shahid’s sense of bottom and line is more rooted in Paul Chambers.

Jarman’s “Lifetime Visions (For The Magnificent Human)” emerged unobtrusively from this soundscape. Initially, Jarman sang the tranquil melody accompanied only by bells. Heat was slowly applied in a subsequent Jarman-Moye flute-congas duet until a tumultuous, circular breathing-fueled Mitchell alto statement ripped off building until the lid. He was soon enjoined by Jarman’s screaming soprano and Wilkes’ riveting trills. As the music approached the boiling point, Jarman laid down on the stage, pumped his legs in the air as if pedaling a bicycle, while continuing to play tenor and little instruments. In the meantime, Mitchell and Wilkes both began to play two horns simultaneously, creating a bracing mass of sound.

When all hell seemed certain to break loose, Shahid and Moye triggered a killin’ funk groove and the AEC launched into Mitchell’s rollicking “Big Red Peaches.” If there was any doubt that Wilkes is jazz’s next rising trumpet star, it was dispelled by his final solo, which referenced Lee Morgan’s tangy soul-jazz, Freddie Hubbard’s full-bore hard bop and a whole bunch of stuff that is clearly his own. Steadily, the AEC ramped up a mighty crescendo and then plunged into “Odwalla,” the initially soft-spoken anthem that is stoked over the course of several choruses to a simmer. Usually, “Odwalla” ends the evening; but on this occasion, the AEC played a short encore, a slightly melancholy, sing-songy tune, the type Mitchell occasionally pens. It was, in fact, William Parker’s “Malachi’s Mode.”

-Bill Shoemaker

12.20.05 | Unwrapped Vol. 4 (Hidden Beach Records)

..."Rappers Delight"opens up with a latin jazz influence & from there, Mike Logan provided us with a dose of an Acoustic Piano Solo experience that would make piano lovers appreciate fine sidebars! He is then followed very closely by the graceful trumpet playing of Mr. Corey Wilkes. Corey played a well thoughtful solo, I thought...Watch out for those cats now!

-Terrill J. Hanna
Contemporary Jazz Magazine

08.12.05 | Effortless Versatility & Mercurial Speed - Corey Wilkes is in Control of his Horn

For inexplicable reasons, Chicago produces more than its share of one-of-a-kind, this-is-something-new jazz talents.

Patricia Barber, Kurt Elling, Reginald Robinson, Maurice Brown, Laurence Hobgood, Paul Wertico -- the list of gloriously idiosyncratic, technically startling players who have emerged in the last 20 years alone stretches for miles.

To this roster, one soon might add the name of Corey Wilkes, a trumpeter who has become ubiquitous on the Chicago scene during the last few seasons. Though he hasn't yet made a major recorded statement as bandleader and composer, his live work has been so impressive in so many settings that expectations surrounding him have been high among Chicago jazz audiences.

Playing to an overflow crowd Tuesday evening at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Wilkes reminded listeners of the seemingly effortless versatility of his playing. Though it's true that he did not venture as deeply into the avant-garde as he has on some occasions -- most notably in his work with the Art Ensemble of Chicago -- Wilkes addressed many other jazz idioms during two vibrantly charismatic sets. Down-home blues, hard-edged bebop, dance-tinged funk, unabashedly sweet balladry -- the man breezed through these jazz languages, and others, with understated authority.

Regardless of the musical style, however, Wilkes produced a sound that consistently distinguished him from other young trumpeters. The pinpoint precision of his technique, the crystalline clarity of his tone, the mercurial speed of his most technically challenging passages and the stripped-down, vibrato-less, utterly unsentimental nature of his sound pointed to an artist in complete control of his instrument.

That Wilkes also generally chose to play less rather than more, to use a few well-chosen pitches where others might expound at length, only enhanced his appeal.

On this evening, playing on the MCA's outdoor Terrace before an audience of concertgoers and diners, the trumpeter mostly steered away from his most provocative fare, while showing how much he brings to mainstream traditions.

The lyricism of his phrasings on Cole Porter's "Night and Day" conveyed an intimacy one might not have expected in an outdoor setting, while his more virtuosic flights on Thelonious Monk's "Rhythm-a-ning" justly drew big ovations.

When Wilkes played trumpet and flugelhorn simultaneously, while bassist Junius Paul reiterated the famous theme of John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme," the gesture was no mere stunt. By effectively merging the sounds of both instruments, Wilkes attained a half-muted, half-brilliant tone unique to him.

Still, considering that he was playing the MCA -- a home for artistic innovation -- a bit more edge and experimentation might have enhanced an already persuasive performance.

Moreover, it might have helped to quiet the more voluble talkers in the crowd.

Can't someone at the MCA gently ask the audience to pipe down during the musicmaking?

-Howard Reich
Chicago Tribune

08.06.05 | Memories as Bold as Brass
Following Brass Ecstasy was a band led by the trumpeter Corey Wilkes, who has replaced Bowie in the Art Ensemble of Chicago. A quartet of young Chicagoans called Abstrakt Pulse, with a more common trumpet-tenor saxophone-bass-drums lineup, it worked through long jazz grooves and funk bounces, working in bits of reggae and Afrobeat here and there, including a version of Fela Kuti's "Water No Get Enemy." (There's a Lester Bowie connection there, too: Bowie once traveled to Nigeria and recorded a few albums with Fela.) It was back-to-the-70's stuff, but Mr. Wilkes is a battling musician, and charismatic; for a stretch he put two trumpets to his lips and soloed through both at once, making glancing references to old bebop tunes.

-Ben Ratliff
New York Times