10/29/11

Dan Wilensky
Group Therapy
Speechless

By Bill Milkowski

On this eclectic outing, tenor saxophonist Dan Wilensky, a charter member of the early ’80s punk-funk group the Slickaphonics and a ubiquitous session man over the past 20 years, fronts a renegade quartet featuring guitarist David Phelps, bassist Dean Johnson and drummer Tony Moreno. From the quirky, laidback blues “Reckless Tongue” to the alluring, Spanish-flavored “Exotikiss” and the edgy rubato number “Certain Nights,” fueled by Phelps’ audacious, distortion-laced guitar lines, they cover a lot of musical ground while exhibiting uncanny group empathy. They also turn in wacky, tongue-in-cheek covers of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” and Petula Clark’s “Downtown” and skew atmospheric and avant-gardish on the title track.