Apperception

Appercetion

Appercetion
Jimmy Wisner Trio
Featuring Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson, Dave Levin & Ace Tesone
Produced by Peter DeAngelis
Cover Art by "Chic" Of Chancellor
Cover Photo & Idea by Macey Lipman
Chancellor Jazz Series
Distributed by Am-Par Corp.
STEREO CHJ5-5014
1960

Personnel:

Jimmy Wisner - Piano
Milt Hinton & Ace Tesone - Bass
Osie Johnson & Dave Levin - Drums

One Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child, My Old Flame, Laura, Baby Shoes, Stella By Starlight: Milt Hinton and Osie Johnson

On Love Look Away, Apperception, Timeless, I'll Remember April, The Wing, Dave Levin and Ace Tesone

From the back cover: Apperception, a word which has had a long and somewhat confused history as a psychological and philosophical "term," relates in an illuminating way to the creative process. In one sense, "apperception" has to do with the active "ordering" (by the individual consciousness) of the chaotic, fragmentary sensations of "experience." It is this kind of "ordering" process by which the artist creates an esthetic object. Out of the constant flux of his experience he "forms" an esthetic whole based on this kind of apperception, and expressed in a particular medium – words, colors, tones.

From the jazz musician the problems of creation are highly complex. He is, after all, working to give some sort of esthetic unity, to an improvised performance which exists in a certain period of time, and which can never "exist" again, even on a recording. And there are so many unknowns. In a group improvisation, each musician, although thoroughly aware of the harmonic and formal structure of the piece, must play by means of his own continuous creative sense, always relating his own playing to what is actually going on. His whole range of musical and emotional experiences is involved – what he has heard and felt, what he is hearing and feeling during this performance, this chorus, this instant. And out of his experience, the sensations of the harmonics and structure of the piece, and the awareness of what the other musicians are playing, he must "form" a coherent and "meaningful" improvisation. All of this suggest the importance of "apperception" to the jazzman's art.

I think it may also be illuminating to describe Jimmy Wisner's personality in terms of his "apperception," He is not, first of all, the kind of musician who is totally involved in jazz to the exclusion of all "outside" interests. Although he has been "on the scene" as a jazz musician, his life is fare from one-sided. At 28, Jimmy maintains a variety of interests and activities which seem to give him a mature perspective on his creative work.

Last year, Jimmy graduated from Temple University, where he majored in psychology, and he is planning to do his post-gradate work at the University of Pennsylvania. At school, and through-out his his musical career, his circle of friends has always included creative people – writers, painters and, of course, other musicians. This kind of atmosphere naturally leads to a sharing of interests and information. For instance, a few years ago, there was a series of informal Shakespeare seminars, led by a friend who is an actor and an expert in the history of the drama. It was at that time, Jimmy recalls, that he was booed by a huge audience at a rock 'n' roll concert (where he was playing in the show band) when then M.C. "caught" him reading Richard II between acts Naturally, the rock 'n' rollers expressed their hostility. "It was a source of great amusement," Jimmy says.

Travel has also played a part in adding to Jimmy's over-all perspective. He has made several tours of Europe and the Far East, performing with his own groups and also sitting in with European jazzmen. At clubs like the Jazz Kellar, in Frankfort, Jimmy was quite impressed with the appreciation and understanding of the European audiences. He found them more interested in listening to the music itself than in merely going to jazz clubs to be chic, as some American club audiences unfortunately do. Like John Lewis and several other American musicians, Jimmy has become deeply interested in European culture – not in the sense of looking for direct musical influences, but for an increasingly varied range of experience.

Jimmy has always been interested in composition, and he devotes part of his time to writing popular songs, arranging his jazz compositions for big bands, and also to "serious" works, mostly for piano. His verbal wit, much respected by his friends is paralleled by a keen sense of musical satire, perhaps best illustrated in his Quince Street Stomp, composed for a writer friend who was learning to play piano. Of course, it is for his jazz compositions that Jimmy is best known, and his writing style is well represented on this album by Baby Shoes, Apperception, and the very usual Timeless.

It is the conscious ordering of these many aspects of personality and experience that the term "apperception" may be applied to Jimmy Wisner. He has developed the ability to form a coherent life-pattern from seemingly diverse experiences, much as a good jazzman shapes his improvisation.
Also from the back cover: Inspiration for this cover

Piet Mondrian (Mondriaan) 1872 -1944

The Dutch painter's style underwent many changes before becoming characterized by its simple expression of two straight lines meeting at a right angle. Founder of the school of neoplasticism, which concentrates on horizontal and vertical lines. Piet Mondrian was called the "Destijl Painter," meaning "pure clean lines." Mondrian's conception of abstract art furnished the basis for the cover of this album.

From Billboard - August 1, 1960: Jimmy Wisner is a pianist from Philadelphia who has something to say. His style is interesting and he has the ability to get across his modern jazz message via his own compositions and his solos. Heard here with his trio, Wisner comes thru with creative work that is worth a listen. Tunes include his own "Baby Shoes," "Apperception," and "Timeless," as well as a group of standards.

Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
Love Look Away
My Old Flame
Laura
Apperception
Baby Shoes
Timeless
I'll Remember April
The Wind
Stella By Starlight