Dave Mossing: Homesteaders

On his debut album, Homesteaders, Montreal-based trumpeter Dave Mossing pays homage to the intrepid immigrants (including some of his forebears) who trekked westward in the early 1900s to help develop the area around his birthplace in Regina, Saskatchewan. He and his quartet do so in the form of a largely unhurried eight-movement Homesteader Suite (plus three brief "interludes") that seeks to depict in musical terms the highs and lows, the ups and downs, the ins and outs, the joys, the sorrows and the challenges faced and overcome by those who traveled from afar to discover and establish a new homeland.

The music is thematic, with each movement rekindling memories of Mossing's childhood home: relatives and family, a church, a body of water, even a cemetery. Based on his portrayal, those who settled the area were no doubt resolute and courageous—but they were by no means a happy lot, nor were they especially interesting, at least not as recreated by Mossing and his quartet.

Much of what Mossing remembers about Saskatchewan seems more somber than joyful, trudging grimly forward as his ancestors must have, plow in hand, seeking to conquer a bleak and obdurate land. Only "Big Muddy," inspired by a badlands region that spans Saskatchewan and Montana, inspires the quartet to really dig in and light a fire. Bassist Ira Coleman introduces that number, on which Mossing plays muted trumpet, while pianist Jean-Michel Pilc solos brightly and drummer Jim Doxas' brushes set the rhythmic compass.

"Muddy" is, alas, the exception to an otherwise heavy and slow-moving rule. Which, it must be assumed, is precisely what Mossing had in mind, as it was he who composed and arranged the entire suite. As a musical repository of Mossing's childhood memories, Homesteaders presumably works quite well; as a jazz album, rather less so. Even though well-played by the quartet, the suite lacks the sort of radiance and charm that Mossing must surely have had in mind.

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