A wide-ranging interview I did for this podcast. You can listen on Spotify

                     Featured in Downbeat Magazine’s                       Best Albums of 2015!

 “Joyful … Soulful … Rollicking …. Memorable. Made In Portland draws upon Wilensky’s years of expertise, and features some of Oregon’s top local musicians. One soon appreciates why Polyglot is the name of the record label. There is no shortage of variety on this disc. Each of the 13 songs, including seven Wilensky originals and a free improvisation, has it’s own plot.”

– Scott Yanow
Downbeat (November, 2015)

“A superb session of vocal and contemporary jazz. A truly gifted artist and multi-instrumentalist, Dan Wilensky’s highly-entertaining Made In Portland provides a showcase for this saxophonist to feature his more than appreciable chops on the reeds and his talents as a composer in one nicely-polished musical endeavor, compelling in all respects.”

– Edward Blanco
All About Jazz (November 11, 2015)

“A lovingly-crafted album that keeps the listener guessing.”

– Dan Bilawsky
All About Jazz (November 25, 2015)

A radio feature for WGLT Chicago; tracks from Made In Portland with my narration. Also available at iTunes as a podcast.

There really isn’t a single page that doesn’t have words of gold on it.

— Tom Erdmann
Saxophone Journal (2011)

Dan Wilensky’s Musician! is the must-read book for those who play a musical instrument or wish that they could.

— Jersey Shore Style (2010)

. . .Dan Wilensky is a Renaissance Man and an educator, both facets of his character evidenced in Musician!, and [his] album If You Only Knew. What Wilensky provides over these two offerings is a master class in tasteful and well-behaved musicianship in the real world . . .dense with information, and presented with a wry sense of humor and a wink . . .Entertaining, informative, reverent and helpful, Musician! is a treat for anyone interested in music.

— C. Michael Bailey
All About Jazz (2011)

Dan Wilensky’s world-class musical skills are one-in-a-million, and the results of where those skills have taken him, and the experience and lessons he has since distilled, are here for musicians of every caliber to absorb and for all readers to enjoy.

— Amazon.com (2010)

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“. . . bold tones and a swaggering intensity . . . Wilensky and Johnson make formidable frontline partners.”

— Bill Milkowski
Jazz Times (May, 2012)

” . . . a pleasure to hear . . . innovative and excellent.”

— Ric Bang
Jazz Scan (May, 2012)

“Four top jazz players and a great discovery.”

— Jürg Sommer
Der Sonntag (February, 2012)

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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.”

— Bill Milkowski

Jazz Times (October, 2011)

. . . a mature, generous music, that manages to sound both spontaneous and slightly lived-in, Wilensky’s welcoming, burnished tone a tethered center throughout the madcap romp of his compositions. That is a veteran’s feat.

— All About Jazz (May, 2011)

Nothing short of brilliant.

— Amazon.com (May, 2011)

Were we to consider If You Only Knew academically, it would be a master class on composition, interpretation, performance, practice and repertoire selection . . .brevity, professionalism, structural musical competency, simplicity, humility and grace . . .The title piece is a ballad of careful beauty that comes to a simmer and beyond . . .

— All About Jazz (March, 2011)

. . . Wilensky’s individuality can be heard with his first notes. His sound is bright, crisp, and completely relaxed in all registers. His lines are direct, to the point, and completely his own; he just does not sound like anyone else.

— Saxophone Journal (March, 2011)

This straight-ahead recording has the charm of four friends getting together in the afternoon, on a day off, to play some music that challenges the mind yet focuses on feel, whether the style is ballads, up-tempo numbers or mid-tempo charmers. Together, they create a recording that delights and impresses, but not by shoving their abilities down your throat. Instead, they take their time to lay out lines with thought and care . . . There is an easy rapport between these musicians best demonstrated in a wonderfully shifting and lilting of backbeat heavy accents on the title piece. Slowing building the tune’s intensity, Neumann is incredibly tasteful and insistently prodding at the same time as he pushes the tune to a great climatic height. Wilensky’s ending solo is full of the fire you can see made him so admired and sought after as a rock musician . . . If you enjoy thoughtful, at times introspective playing by those who have already earned their stripes and have no need to show off, then you’ll be totally captivated by this recording.

— Jazzreview.com (January, 2011)

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This is the first solo release for a man whose varied pedigree includes stints with Ray Charles, David Bowie, Faith No More, Steve Winwood, Madonna, R. Kelly and many others. He was also a member of the seminal Who It is!, which counted Richard Tee, Steve Gadd, Cornell Dupree and Will Lee among its members. Everything about this release is top-notch, from the material to the recording to the packaging. Needless to say, the performances are outstanding as well. There is an element of experimentation and grit that takes this way beyond CD 101, yet it is as smooth and groovin’ as anything you’d hear there. Wilensky’s tone – whether on soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxes or flute and alto flute – is full of depth and warmth and expression.

— Musician’s Exchange (October,1997)

Wilensky has a groovy sax playing style with a touch of funk. A great solo artist that gives contemporary jazz fans a treat. A name that I’m sure we will hear more from soon!

— Jazzreview.com (March, 1998)

I’ve listened to this CD at least a dozen times, and I keep hearing new things. This is instrumental music for people who are bored by instrumental music. Excellent!

— iTunes Customer (December, 2010)

Hi Dan,

I doubt you remember me, but Josh Margolis suggested you to play on a ‘vanity’ CD I wrote and produced called Crossed My Heart circa 1997. You came into studio loaded down with 4 saxes. I was naive and had NO charts, just gaps in songs where I wanted a lyrical sax. You asked what I was ‘after’ and I stuttered something . . and then asked if you’d like to hear the tracks before trying a take. “Nah”, you said nonchalantly. “Just put ’em on and hit ‘record’.” I thought, ‘this guy is cocky as hell’, but I acquiesced and did as you asked. Four songs and 20 minutes later, you had laid down 4 of the most beautiful, perfect tracks I could imagine – each one a first and only take. They all ended up on the finished CD (which, having spent all my budget recording, I never marketed or officially released). I happened to listen to it last night after several years, and was once again gobsmacked by your improv skills, lyricism, soul and empathetic channeling abilities – absolute perfection and magic. So tho no doubt you’ve long forgotten me (and no, I ain’t fishin’ here so don’t even bite), I wanted to say a belated thanks for bringing so much beauty, nuance and color to my work. I remain gobsmacked and in awe of your talent, and it’s so great to see the respected and honored veteran you’ve evolved so gracefully into. Having you play on my songs was one of the highlights of my musical life – and I’ll never forget the musical alchemy you so deftly conjured that magical night so long ago. It was an honor and a life-affirming joy that lingers to this day!

Cheers,

Steve Uhler