Jack Wilson

Review

The Bear And The Wolf

by Ian Mann

July 02, 2026

/ ALBUM

A strong debut from Jack Wilson that draws on his many musical influences to produce an admirably diverse set.

Jack Wilson

“The Bear And The Wolf”

(Whittington Records in association with ECN Music)

Jack Wilson – saxophone, Billy Marrows – guitar, Max Kahn – double bass, Jack Yardley – drums

“The Bear And The Wolf” is the debut album from the young London based saxophonist, composer and educator Jack Wilson.

Born in 1995 in Knaresborough, Yorkshire Wilson studied at Leeds College of Music before moving to London for further studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He comes from a musical family, his father is an amateur trombonist who still plays in local big bands.

Introduced to jazz at an early age by his father and grandfather he names Joe Henderson, John Coltrane and Michael Brecker as being among his primary saxophone influences. But as Wilson told Martin Chilton of UK Jazz News his sources of inspiration range much wider than that and also include Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Steely Dan and even Arctic Monkeys.

Wilson’s playing has been heard in a variety of musical contexts, including jazz, folk and electronica. He has toured and recorded with the Palestinian violinist Akram Abdulfattah and has appeared at many leading music venues and festivals, both in the UK and continental Europe.

Wilson also works as a jazz educator, teaching woodwind for Haringey Music Service in addition to leading other workshops, ensembles and community projects.

Wilson’s debut album follows hot on the heels of an eponymous, now sold out EP, released in 2024, that helped to establish him on the London jazz scene.

Both the EP and the new album feature the same line up of Wilson, guitarist Billy Marrows, bassist Max Kahn and drummer Jack Yardley.

Wilson says of his colleagues;
“Writing with these musicians in mind has allowed their personalities to come out in the music with greater ease. We’ve played together in different formats over a number of years and there’s a real sense of connection and trust. Max and Jack play together as a dynamic unit that brings a big energy and vibe to a musical setting. It is very exciting to be able to play over them as a soloist. Billy’s playing acts as the glue to the band, filling the space thoughtfully and with real excitement”.

I’m familiar with Marrows’ playing after having reviewed recordings by his quartet and by the larger Grande Familia Ensemble. He also leads an octet and his own jazz Big Band.

Marrows is also an in demand sideman and has worked with saxophonists Tom Barford, Tom Ridout and Chelsea Carmichael, fellow guitarist John Parricelli, and the Docklands Sinfonia. He is also a member of the groups OK Aurora, led by drummer, composer and vocalist Rod Oughton, and Di-Cysgodion, a quartet led by bassist and composer Huw V Williams.

Marrows has also worked in a duo with Kahn but other than this the members of the rhythm section represent new discoveries for me.

“The Bear And The Wolf” was recorded in October 2025 at London’s Lightship 95 studio by Giles Barrett and was mixed and mastered by the estimable Alex Bonney.

The album commences with “Cascade”, which is centred around a recurring, nagging guitar motif that provides the fulcrum for the fluent urgency of Wilson’s Coltrane inspired tenor sax soloing. There’s also a hint of the Middle East in the leader’s playing, a legacy perhaps of his time with Abdulfattah. Kahn and Yardley keep the rhythms simple and propulsive, until the drummer breaks free with a closing feature underpinned by circling guitar ans sax motifs.

The relatively brief “Prelude For The Departed” pushes even further into Coltrane-esque spiritual jazz territory with Wilson’s tenor sax incantations augmented by Yardley’s rolling toms and Marrows’ guitar sound-washes. The influence of Coltrane’s great quartet featuring pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones is openly acknowledged as an inspiration here.

“P & P” was written for two of Wilson’s mentors, Ian Peak and Paul Welch. Talking to Martin Chilton Wilson described his composition thus;
“They ran a youth band I was in and without doubt I wouldn’t be a professional musician without their input. I wanted to honour them by trying to encapsulate their relationship with each other in this tune. It starts off harmonious and swinging before getting fiery at the end.”
Again the spirit of Coltrane informs the music, which does indeed swing. Marrows takes the first solo, an eloquent outpouring of ideas. Wilson then takes over on tenor, even quoting from “A Love Supreme” as he unleashes a suitably impassioned tenor solo, delivering on his promise. A word too for Kahn and Yardley, whose powerful playing inspires the soloists to fresh heights.

Things quieten down perceptibly with the charming ballad “Lullaby”, which sees the group abandoning the heavy Coltrane-isms in favour of a lighter approach. It’s welcome demonstration of the softer side of the band with its beguiling, gently sinuous melodies. Yardley displays an admirable delicacy with the brushes as he supports the melodic double bass soloing of the excellent Kahn and the soft but subtly inventive soloing of Marrows, his guitar playing occasionally suggesting the influence of Bill Frisell. Wilson is not afraid to keep things simple, maintaining a comparatively low profile on sax and concentrating on straightforward melodic lines.

Title track “The Bear And The Wolf” is inspired by video game culture as Wilson confided to Martin Chilton;
“It’s from from spending far too much time achieving a Platinum (100% completion) trophy on the video game ‘God of War Ragnarök’. The trophy was called ‘The Bear And The Wolf’, which I thought sounded really cool, so I decided I wanted to write a tune that would have that name. The two different melodies on the tune mix playfulness (The Wolf) with something more stoic (The Bear).”
The opening melody also hints at Wilson’s involvement in the folk world and acts as the catalyst that inspires a wonderfully inventive solo from Marrows that also takes the music into more of a rock sphere. His deployment of a range of effects is masterful and has evoked comparisons with the playing of the great Mary Halvorson.
A passage of arpeggiated, unaccompanied saxophone acts as the bridge into the second half of the piece, which features the leader’s tenor declaiming over a sturdy back beat, with the famous ‘Love Supreme’ motif briefly quoted for a second time. Wilson gradually ramps up the tension, underpinned by increasingly dynamic bass and drum rhythms and Marrows’ powerful guitar chording. The piece subsequently resolves itself with a return to the gentler melodies that introduced the first section.
This is a piece with a strong narrative arc with the two contrasting themes also intended to suggest “companionship and a shared journey”.

“Södermalm” is named for a district of Stockholm, a city that Wilson knows well, thanks in part to his ongoing project with the Swedish bassist and composer Adam Dahlin. Introduced by a combination of drums and bass this piece again evokes a contemporary jazz feel and features Kahn as the first soloist. Marrows subsequently takes over on guitar, his playing cool and eloquent. Wilson eventually enters to probe intelligently on tenor on a piece intended to reflect “a sense of warmth and energy”.
“Truth be told, the name came from having a pretty amazing night out on that island,” Wilson told Chilton.

The album closes with “Mr. Fox”, a titled inspired by a regular visitor to the garden of Wilson’s north London residence. Musically it draws inspiration from the American guitarist and composer John Scofield, with bass and drums introducing the tune and establishing an angular groove that provides the basis for an arresting riff based theme and the subsequent soloing of Kahn, Marrows and Wilson. The guitar and sax solos are particularly powerful and the piece builds up quite a head of steam towards its close. It certainly bears Scofield’s imprint and is a composition that the man himself might have been proud of.

“The Bear And The Wolf” represents a strong debut from Jack Wilson that draws on his many musical influences to produce an admirably diverse set. The Coltrane influence is arguably a little too overt on the opening three numbers but the rest of the album embraces a more obviously contemporary approach. The use of guitar rather than piano also serves to give the Coltrane inspired pieces more of a contemporary feel.

All four musicians perform superbly with Wilson and Marrows forming an excellent partnership, as do the rhythm team of Kahn and the impressive Yardley. With the Wilson / Marrows axis at its heart there’s clearly scope for further development and it will be interesting to see what the quartet do next.

In the sort term there’s a short series of UK live dates coming up, as listed below. One suspects that this quartet would represent a very exciting live prospect, so catch them if you can.

Jack Wilson’s recordings are available via his Bandcamp page here;
https://jackwilsonsax.bandcamp.com/music