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John Roney: Preludes
by C. Michael Bailey
Intelligent programming in a jazz release provides its own reward in seasoning the recital contained therein with a thoughtful foundation. Canadian pianist John Roney entitles his recording Preludes and proceeds to populate the disc with exactly that, “Preludes," those brief, often standalone keyboard compositions from the Romantic era. Preludes most often feature a limited number of rhythmic and melodic motifs that recur through the piece. Important in jazz, the prelude is an improvisatory piece of music capably malleable to an ...
read moreJohn Roney: Il Penseroso of the Piano
by Robert J. Lewis
Far too often in jazz, a musician posing as a songwriter decides to immortalize a catchy sequence of notes or simple chord progression by inverting, converting, coloring, varying, flipping and reformulating it. But however dazzling is the musicianship, the acrobatics are not to be confused with composition. Saxophonist Branford Marsalis states unequivocally, “One of the problems I have with a lot of today's jazz is the lack of melody and overemphasis on harmonic associations. To put it unkindly, too much ...
read moreJohn Roney: Rate of Change
by Budd Kopman
The Canadian scene continues to be impressive. John Roney's Rate Of Change leads me to wonder what it is that creates a sense of something that can be called “Canadian jazz." While Canada itself is somewhat divided by language (and culture), the country's mainstream jazzers feel connected by a strong sense of optimism and an underlying romanticism. Francois Carrier belongs to an entirely different genre, playing mostly free improvisation, as he did on Happening (Leo Records, 2006). ...
read moreJohn Roney Trio: Rate of Change
by John Kelman
Since moving from Toronto in 2001, pianist John Roney has climbed the ladder of the Montreal jazz scene with remarkable speed. For the past couple of years his trio with bassist Zack Lober and drummer Jim Doxas has been hosting the Montreal Jazz Festival's late night jam sessions, and it would be difficult to find a better group for the gig. Rate of Change, Roney's second disc as a leader, is the first to feature his current trio and receive ...
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