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Vancouver Jazz Orchestra: Vancouver Jazz Orchestra Meets Brian Charette
by Pierre Giroux
The Vancouver Jazz Orchestra's debut album arrives with a sense of purpose that feels both timely and reassuringly traditional. Formed to showcase the city's rich pool of jazz musicians while creating a platform for composers and arrangers, the VJO proves itself not through rhetoric but through sound. This release features a confident, well-rehearsed ensemble playing music almost exclusively by Vancouver writers, united here by the invigorating presence of Hammond B3 master Brian Charette. Steve Kaldestad's “Equestrian Interlude" opens ...
Continue ReadingVancouver Jazz Orchestra: Meets Brian Charette
by Jack Bowers
Through the years, Canada has produced an impressive number of world-renowned big bands including Rob McConnell's peerless Boss Brass, the Toronto and Winnipeg Jazz Orchestras, those led by trombonist Dave McMurdo, pianist Jill Townsend and trumpeter Steve McDade, and one of the world's foremost undergraduate bands, Montreal's McGill University Jazz Ensemble. On its debut recording, Meets Brian Charette, the Vancouver Jazz Orchestra proves beyond any doubt that it deserves inclusion in that special fraternity. Simply put, the VJO ...
Continue ReadingWilliam Carn's Choices: The Unburdening
by Dan McClenaghan
The Covid pandemic allowed Canadian trombonist William Carn to push toward electronics, to move in the direction of going remote with his fellow players for the process of putting a set of sounds together. His debut album, 2023's self-produced Choices (review here) started the process. He doubles down (a much-heard phrase in the 2020s, thanks to a certain politician) on the do-it- at-home mode for his second recording, The Unburdening. The previously mentioned politician's 'double down' means doing something cruel ...
Continue ReadingBrad Turner: Trio Plus One It's All So
by Pierre Giroux
Brad Turner has long been celebrated as one of Canada's most versatile and expressive artists, whether delivering shimmering lines on the trumpet, crafting emotionally resonant compositions, or, as he does on Trio Plus One, It's All So, showcasing his refined pianistic voice. The album features nine tracks--eight of which are Turner originals-- affirming his stature not only as an instrumentalist but also as a composer of rare intuition and breadth. Joining Turner are long- time collaborators Darren Radtke on bass ...
Continue ReadingTom Keenlyside: Third Street Wobble
by Jack Bowers
Tom Keenlyside, a saxophonist from Vancouver, British Columbia, who has performed in his native Canada and around the world with a who's who of jazz and pop musicians, leads an impressive quintet on Third Street Wobble, his seventh recording as a leader or member of various groups, on many of which his flute has been in the foreground. Keenlyside stays with the tenor saxophone here, sharing front-line duties with trumpeter Brad Turner in a group whose other able ...
Continue ReadingNeil Swainson Sextet: Here for a While
by Pierre Giroux
Neil Swainson's Here For A While is a tutorial in modern jazz composition and ensemble synergy. Swainson, a bassist of profound depth and melodic sensibility, has gathered a formidable sextet for this project, including Brad Turner on trumpet and flugelhorn, Kelly Jefferson on tenor andsoprano saxophones, Steve Davis on trombone, Renee Rosnes on piano and Quincy Davis on drums. Together, they bring to life nine compositions that are as intricate as they are engaging, each a testament to Swainson's skill ...
Continue ReadingAtley King: Unconditional
by Jack Bowers
Unconditional is the debut recording as leader by Atley King who is described in a press release as “Canada's leading young jazz vibraphonist." While that portrayal may or may not be true--not to mention gratuitous--King is very good, as are the members of his admirable quintet. Besides playing splendidly, King wrote the first eight of the album's nine selections, closing with John Coltrane's soulful “Naima." His compositions are fine, albeit more or less generic--that is to say, ...
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