Tenor Saxophonist and composer Michael Webster manages to reside comfortably in the crease of New-York-style instrumental improvisational music while maintaining an eclecticism and sincerity all his own. The same can be said of Webster as of his contemporaries Dave Douglas and Vijay Iyer – that he is not merely a musician but a facilitator of musical collaborations in whole greater than the sum of their parts.  He truly plays not only the horn, but the band. 

This year marks the release of Webster’s second solo album, Momentus. His first, Leading Lines, received round praise for its sophisticated take on accessible material.  “The orchestrations are exquisite,” wrote pianist Garry Dial. “The use of strings, woodwinds and brass evokes the genius of Gil Evans and Maria Schneider.”

Webster is known for his love of Afro-Latin music and extensive collaborations with some of its most luminary exponents, including William Cepeda, Arturo O’Farrill, and John Benitez, and the influence is audible in his debut.

Building upon the artist’s experience in the intervening years, Momentus exhibits elements of Webster’s trademark style, but is notable as a departure from the genre-based music of Leading Lines, into stream-of-consciousness storytelling and ambitious long-form explorations.

Webster plays nimbly with the textural and orchestrational options allowed by his unconventional six-piece ensemble, which features Ingrid Jensen’s trumpet and Chris Dingman’s vibraphone. What will likely endear this album to casual listeners and critics alike, though, is the strength and clarity of its thematic material.  Central to Webster's work, and lending it a universality and catharsis transcendent of its instrumental setting, is the feeling that the tune has absolute primacy.

Webster lives in Brooklyn, New York, and continues to compose, perform and tour with both his own groups and as a sideman.