quot;This debut from an exceptional five-piece jazz outfit lead by composer / saxophonist Tom Elferdink glistens with smart original songs as well as renditions of classics by Roland Kirk and Richard Evans.quot; John Sinkevics, The Grand Rapids Press quot;What a great band!quot; Lazaro Vega, Blue Lake Public Radio quot;A Wish has quality musicianship and innovative arrangements. Homerun!quot; Bob Collins, The Jazz Café, WRHU Hempstead, NY quot;A Wish ...has a definite appeal to me.quot; Lenny Mazel, Jazz Director KCME-FM Colorado Springs, CO quot;A Wish by The Wonderland Jazz Ensemble is just great! Thank you, it's just superb work!quot; Leo Rayhill, Sounds of Jazz, WCNY Syracuse, NY quot;Sprinkled throughout the album are nuggets of discovery. The quintet continually provides unexpected ideas, either as part of the arrangements or through spur-of-the-moment improvisation.quot; Bill Donaldson, Cadence Magazine Jan/Feb/Mar 2008 (read entire review below) The unusual line-up of two quot;reed menquot; with a rhythm section is just one of the characteristics that give The Wonderland Jazz Ensemble it's unique sound. On their first recording, A Wish, composer/saxophonist Tom Elferdink and the ensemble use combinations of various saxophones and flute to create different musical moods and textures. Like facets of a prism, each tune on A Wish has a hue, groove and vibration of it's own, and yet taken together, they reveal a singular musical vision. That vision harks back to subversive jazz masters like Roland Kirk and Sun Ra, both of whom are saluted here. Moreover, such a sense of jazz history marks a refreshing change from the buttoned-down neoclassicism of today's young-jazzmen-in-suits. Though Kirk and Ra have been relegated to the margins of the jazz canon, it is precisely their kind of musicality-with it's daring eclecticism, shocking textures and surreal humor-that is most sorely missed on today's jazz scene. Moreover, there's a Whitmanesque spirituality in this kind of catholic (small c) taste, a point beautifully illustrated by the medley which combines the rootsy Baptist hymn quot;Down to the River to Prayquot; with Sun Ra's hard bop blues fantasia quot;Lullaby of Forrealville.quot; When musicians forge extraordinary links like this, it is as if they open the possibilities of living a bit more for all of us. Elferdink's own compositions are similarly adventurous and inquisitive, their impressionistic chords punctuating sharp melodies like musical question marks. This dialogic quality is highlighted in the albums' centerpiece-quot;Think Back,quot; quot;Walk Back,quot; quot;Talk Backquot;-a suite which moves through introspective lyricism, film noir blues, Zappaesque stop-time and elegant ensemble swing to meditate on a poignant, melancholy theme. And finally, the word quot;ensemblequot; cannot be overemphasized here. Elferdink's Wonderland colleagues-saxophonist Ken Morgan, pianist Eric Thorne, bassist Jeff Beavan and drummer Mike Van Lente-play with extraordinary taste and drive, making every note count. If you're a fan of bold jazz, inventive artistry or genuine musical interplay, then A Wish is simply a must. TOM ELFERDINK - Saxophones/Flute Honed in the nightclubs and recording studios of Chicago, Tom's style is rooted in the jazz and blues of that great city. He is a unique composer and arranger as is evidenced by The Wonderland Jazz Ensemble's repertoire, which contains many of his original tunes and scores. He has performed and/or recorded with some of the Windy City's greatest including Sunnyland Slim, Eddie C. Campbell, Ray Baile
