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Tony Tixier: Poems Never End
by Neil Duggan
Serendipity is the art of everything being in the right place at the right time, and so it proved for Tony Tixier on a whirlwind trip to New York City. Recorded during a single afternoon and without a predetermined plan for the session, the album Poems Never End was recorded in one take, with nothing added, taken away, or otherwise embellished in post-production. Frenchman Tixier is a highly versatile pianist who has worked in most small group formats ...
Continue ReadingJoe Robson: Home
by Neil Duggan
Many artists draw inspiration from their homeland's folk traditions, which are often reflected in their compositions and playing style. This fusion is particularly evident in Scottish jazz, where prominent performers like Fergus McCreadie, Norman Willmore and Stephen Henderson incorporate strong folk elements. Guitarist Joe Robson advances this blend in his ambitious project Home, achieving a complete marriage of both genres across his ten compositions that make up the album. Supporting his vision are several similarly inspired Scottish musicians. ...
Continue ReadingJoel Haynes: The Return
by Jack Bowers
The Return! is certainly well-named, as it is drummer Joel Haynes' third album as leader of his own group but the first in fifteen years, following Cellar Music recordings The Time Is Now (2005) and Transitions (2008). During his long absence from a recording studio, however, Toronto-based Haynes has managed to stay busy, performing with many of the finest jazz artists in Canada and appearing at jazz festivals and other events in North and South America, the Caribbean and Europe. ...
Continue ReadingAlexander Claffy: Music From Big Orange
by Pierre Giroux
Alexander Claffy has released an impressive album entitled “Music From Big Orange" which showcases his skills as a bassist and composer, and captures the essence of contemporary jazz while paying homage to the rich traditions of the genre. Switching seamlessly from acoustic bass to electric, depending on the sonic flow of any given tune, it is clear that Claffy's bass playing is the foundation upon which the entire album is built. On this orange-coloured vinyl LP, ...
Continue ReadingConrad Herwig: Obligation
by C. Andrew Hovan
Jazz fans tend to be fanatical about those artists that most directly speak to their own musical tastes. Over time, a sense of familiarity with the musical personalities of their iconic favorites becomes entrenched, followed by categorization based on style and genre. Those already familiar with Conrad Herwig's musical endeavors over the past 20 years are likely to speak to his great versatility, at home in both jazz and Afro-Cuban musical circles as he is in leading his own varied ...
Continue ReadingSeamus Blake: Bellwether
by C. Andrew Hovan
The music speaks for itself. This timeworn axiom has often served as a suggestion that there's an intangible aspect to music's universal language that is somehow beyond mere words. In some cases this may be true, but on the other hand, this outlook has occasionally in the past served as a viable excuse for justifying music of a somewhat dubious nature.In recently talking with saxophonist Seamus Blake by phone from Vancouver, it occurred to me that his “less ...
Continue ReadingOpus 5: Introducing Opus 5
by Josef Woodard
The Evident Charms and Secret Powers of Five For all the myriad varieties and contextual possibilities under the rubric of what makes for a valid jazz group, there is something distinctively powerful and tradition-enriched about the number five. Smaller groups tighten up the focus on individual voices involved, and often frame a specified protagonist leader, while larger groupings accentuate the greater good of the team. By contrast, the quintet format, especially in the conventional format of trumpet and tenor sax ...
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