Featured Release

Album Overview

On The Vigil and The Sleeping Giant, Ron Wilkins and Rebecca Patterson bring the Trombocalist Big Band into a large-ensemble program shaped by low brass, voice, groove, and expanded orchestral color. The album moves through Wilkins’ four-part Covid Suite and Patterson’s companion works with a clear narrative frame: illness, altered time, awakening, recovery, waiting, and remembrance. Across the recording, trombone, bass trombone, tuba, EWI, bansuri, Rhodes, brass chorale textures, and a deeply responsive rhythm section give the ensemble a wide but focused sound, allowing form, timbre, and improvisation to carry the album’s arc.

From the album…

From the album… the recording’s balance between personal narrative and ensemble restraint becomes especially clear on “Sulk City,” where Patterson’s sustained melodic writing leaves space around the harmony and the rhythm section. Seneca Black’s trumpet line enters with a measured, lyrical focus, while Mike King’s keyboard work and Ray Marchica’s drums gradually reveal the unsettled motion beneath the surface. The track serves as a useful entry point into the album’s second perspective: the vigil, the waiting, and the way time changes for the person outside the hospital room.

Listen to the album

Recommended listening: begin with “Sulk City,” then let the album unfold.

Album Details

Artist: Ron Wilkins and Rebecca Patterson
Album: The Vigil and The Sleeping Giant
Label: Adhyâropa Records
Release Date: April 10, 2026
Focus listening entry point: “Sulk City”
Artist Websites: RonWilkins.com; RebeccaPattersonMusic.com

Personnel / Featured Contributors

Ron Wilkins — trombone, bass trombone, voice, compositions
Rebecca Patterson — bass trombone, tuba, compositions
Aaron Heick — soprano saxophone, alto saxophone
Ron Blake — tenor saxophone
Zac Zinger — EWI, bansuri
Carl Maraghi — baritone saxophone
Seneca Black — trumpet
Alex Norris / Alex Pope Norris — trumpet
Freddie Hendrix — trumpet
Ed Neumeister — trombone
Mike King — piano, Fender Rhodes
Jeff Barone — guitar
Boris Kozlov — bass
Ray Marchica — drums
Chloe Holgate — voice
Julie Benko — voice

Track Listing

1. Covid Suite I. Big City Livin’ — Ron Wilkins
2. Covid Suite II. Comatose Dreams and Nightmares — Ron Wilkins
3. Covid Suite III. Awaken and Alleluia — Ron Wilkins
4. Covid Suite IV. The Sleeper Has Awakened — Ron Wilkins
5. Sulk City — Rebecca Patterson
6. Near East — Rebecca Patterson
7. Waltz Someday — Rebecca Patterson
8. Like A Brother — Ron Wilkins and Morgan King

Recording / Production Notes

Recorded for large ensemble with featured low brass, voice, reeds, brass, rhythm section, EWI, bansuri, and Rhodes. The album’s program centers on Ron Wilkins’ COVID illness and recovery, with Rebecca Patterson’s compositions reflecting the experience of waiting, witnessing, and carrying time from the outside.