Acclaimed composer and trumpeter Sarah Wilson draws inspiration from visual art, brass bands and the joy of music on her spirited new album Incandescence. Out July 18, 2025 via Brass Tonic Records, the album features Wilson’s brass focused sextet Brass Tonic on an exuberant set sparked by the work of Austrian painter Thomas Reinhold. Out July 18, 2025 via Wilson’s own Brass Tonic Records and co-produced by Wilson and Grammy Award-winning producer Hans Wendl, Incandescence was commissioned by InterMusic SF’s Musical Grant Program. It draws equal inspiration from Reinhold’s bold, multi-hued abstracts and from the street-level, community-spirited traditions of brass band, marching and New Orleans parade music. In Brass Tonic, Wilson combines an all-woman horn frontline – herself, alto saxophonist Kasey Knudsen, and trombonist Mara Fox – with the buoyant rhythm section of guitarist John Schott, bassist Lisa Mezzacappa, and, for this recording, drummers Jon Arkin and Tim Bulkley.
