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Diana Panton: Soft Winds And Roses
by Pierre Giroux
Diana Panton has long been an artist of quiet yet undeniable depth, uniquely transforming melodies into deeply personal narratives. On Soft Winds and Roses, she focuses on modern classics from the 1960s onward, drawing from the songbooks of Elton John, Burt Bacharach, Gordon Lightfoot, Lennon and McCartney, Leonard Cohen, and Joni Mitchell, among many others. In doing so, she creates an album that is both a journey through timeless compositions and a meditation on love's delicate arc, marked by hesitant ...
Continue ReadingDon Thompson / Rob Piltch: Bells... Now and Then
by Dave Linn
Don Thompson and Rob Piltch have taken different paths in their musical careers. Thompson was a triple threat (piano, bass, vibraphone) on the Toronto studio and club scene during the late 1960s, later becoming the bassist in Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass. He began touring with Jim Hall in 1974, later appearing on the guitarist's album, Live! (Horizon, 1975) recorded at Toronto's Bourbon Street jazz club. That same year he played with the Paul Desmond Quartet (with Ed Bickert ...
Continue ReadingDon Thompson & Rob Piltch: Bells... Now and Then
by Pierre Giroux
Multi-instrumentalist Don Thompson and guitarist Rob Piltch are two Canadian musicians who, in 1981 and 1982, recorded an album entitled Bells for the Umbrella label. The material has been remastered and reissued as Bells...Now and Then, bookended by two new recordings of compositions by Thompson. Don Thompson has been a highly-regarded part of the Toronto and Canadian jazz scene since the late 1960s, playing bass in an early iteration of Rob McConnell's Boss Brass, touring with ...
Continue ReadingGuido Basso: One More For The Road
by Pierre Giroux
Guido Basso, known for his mastery of the flugelhorn and trumpet, died in February of 2023. From his earliest days in Montreal playing with the Maury Kaye band, to working in the US with top performers such Vic Damone and Pearl Bailey, Basso gained a reputation as a consummate musician who was capable of working in a variety of settings. Deciding not to remain in the U.S., Basso returned to Canada and settled in Toronto. Here, he established himself as ...
Continue ReadingPaul Desmond: The Complete 1975 Toronto Recordings
by C. Andrew Hovan
Even if he had never played another note following the break-up of the Dave Brubeck group in 1967, alto saxophonist Paul Desmond would have entered the history books as one of music's most brilliant improvisers. During his 17 years with Brubeck, Desmond proved himself to be an indispensable part of that quartet with a wistful and witty sound that he himself described as akin to a “dry martini." Fortunately, Desmond continued to add to his legacy starting in ...
Continue ReadingDon Thompson / Reg Schwager: One Take Volume Three
by Martin Gladu
"I'll just start to play something. You'll know this," chuckles bassist Don Thompson before introducing “Alice In Wonderland," while guitarist Reg Schwager intently listens. Spontaneity, interaction, instrumental mastery, the blues and a seemingly unlimited repertoire of tunes all come to mind to the well-read jazz music fan. But, less known are the taxing sessions and late night gigs musicians mandatorily go through learning to create this music on a whim--moreover, looking debonair doing it. With chance, a deeper connection between ...
Continue ReadingDon Thompson: Ask Me Later
by Martin Gladu
Ask Me Later, an all-Canadian project, swings as much as it is lyrical. Released on the state-owned CBC Records' quiet but qualitative jazz schedule, it eloquently demonstrates the breadth of Canada's most seasoned and able contemporary jazz talents. (The disc was awarded a Juno at the 2006 awards ceremony.)
The multi-talented Don Thompson (a pianist, vibraphonist, bassist, composer, arranger and teacher) is known internationally mainly for his stints with Jim Hall, George Shearing and Kenny Wheeler, with whom ...
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