Simón Willson: Bet
Endectomorph Music

Live recordings typically lack the pristine production quality of a studio album but more than make up for it in their visceral edge. Nothing beats hearing musicians high-wiring it in front of a receptive audience, a fine example this live document of Simón Willson's quartet in action. Caught on a March night in 2024 at Brooklyn's Ornithology Jazz Club, Bet finds the Chilean-born and NYC-based acoustic bassist partnering with pianist Evan Main, drummer Kayvon Gordon, and, on all but one of the seven tunes, tenor saxophonist Neta Raanan. With all of the compositions written by the bassist, anyone wanting a solid introduction to Willson and his music has been granted an excellent portal in Bet.

With improvisation and individual soloing so much a part of its makeup, jazz performed live entails more risk than other genres where firmer controls are in place. But when players are involved who have, as Willson states, practiced their instruments “for thousands of hours to achieve fluency and command,” excitement is palpable and pervasive. The awareness for both musician and audience that the music's coming together in real time, with all the unpredictability that that entails, naturally makes for a gripping presentation.

The opener “Business Card” presents a foursome locked in and moving at a breathless sprint. With Main a supportive guide and the leader and Gordon powering the band with barely contained combustion, Raanan rides the changes as if born to it. Making good on the track title, the quartet's all business as it roars through the material, the saxophonist soloing first before handing off to the pianist for his own angular statement. With the bassist and drummer also trading punchy solos, “Business Card” registers as something of a statement-of-intent for the outfit. In something of a similar vein is “Have Cereal” for the band's inspired riff on hard bop, the ever-voluble Raanan digging in especially hard on the freewheeler. Arriving in the wake of such intensity, “Three Legged Stool” offers a welcome excursion into balladry plus a quieter context for the leader and a bluesy Main to emote within. Willson produced the album and to his credit effectively balanced the four voices so that each is heard clearly no matter how dense the music gets.

While some titles might appear provisional, they were determined with specific meanings in mind. Crafted by Willson to replicate the rhythms of running, “Jog” uses contrasting sections to suggest a jogger's breathing and movements. The band's energized take enables one to easily visualize the steady pace of the runner in the opening section and the gradual escalation in intensity that builds into compact bursts of energy. The title “Bet” evokes risk but for Willson more specifically the anticipation, tension, and release associated with wagering and in its ebb and flow parallels the nerve-wracking moments high rollers experience.

On “Feel Love,” Willson pays homage to his heritage by integrating a traditional Chilean folk rhythm into the piece, and with Raanan sitting out the trio expression feels like an even more heartfelt statement by the bassist (brace yourself for the volcanic contribution from Gordon). Introduced by the leader's unaccompanied bass, “Get a Room,” on the other hand, is the bassist's tribute to Ornette Coleman, and the slippery theme's very much in the late legend's style—even if it serves as a springboard for another of the quartet's furious performances.

November 2025