“Southern Limbo” is the latest single from Nova Scotia’s jazz guitarist Sam Wilson, and the first look into her upcoming release Into a Heart – Part II. It is a solo instrumental piece that expands on a pioneer blues guitar sound and offers some immediate contrast to the ensemble post-bop prevalent in her previous work, Groundless Apprehensions.
The piece opens with the main motif; a bluesy conversation on pedal points, with something of a ‘noodling on the front porch’ vibe. This is quickly enhanced with minor/major play and natural harmonics. From then on the track builds-up by adding a series of short vignettes, each revealing more and more of Wilson’s vocabulary. It all culminates in an almost punk-rock strumming section, adorned with some tension and right-hand rhythmic flourishes. The mood overall is peacefully sombre, and the energy swings back and forth between meditative and anxious.
“Southern Limbo” is an intimate and expressive piece of guitar music, and a treat to listen to. The guitar sound itself is dry, somewhat dark and mostly clean, though there seems to be a hint of tasty breakup on the louder parts. The tone can get slightly muddy when there’s a lot of strumming on the bottom strings, but this only happens during the most ‘chaotic’ parts in the track and as such it kind of fits. Some listeners might prefer a slightly less ‘enclosed’ sound, however, the production choices here are solid.
“Southern Limbo” was recorded as a single, uninterrupted live performance. The recording isn’t grid-perfect or artificially polished. Instead, it flows organically with the passion of a player. This is my favourite type of recording to listen to.
We asked Wilson about influential players. “Some non-classical instrumentalists I find inspiring right now are Tambour (Montreal), Justin Wright (Montreal), Jessica Ackerley (New York), Etta Baker (US), Daniel Herskedel (Norway).” She is also currently drawn to the work of Alberta’s Jessica McMann.
The track is a single release off of Wilson’s latest album, an extended version of her 2017 EP Into A Heart. Released in Japan on September 25th, the album will be fully released in Canada on January 29th.
Sam Wilson’s quartet will be performing music from Groundless Apprehensions at the Al Whittle Theatre in Wolfville NS, November 27 8p. Join me in anticipation for Wilson’s upcoming release, Into A Heart – Part II, as well a the accompanying video for “Southern Limbo.”