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Jack Duncan
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 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 ReadingNightcrawlers: Get Ready
by Pierre Giroux
The common thread between the Nightcrawlers and nightcrawler earthworms is that they both come out at night, and while the former is at home in a jazz club before a live audience, the latter is feeding on decaying organic material. Some may say that is a distinction without a difference. Nevertheless the latest nightly ritual for the Nightcrawlers is called Get Ready and it was recorded live at Frankie's Jazz Club in Vancouver B.C. This confident sextet is centred around ...
Continue ReadingNightcrawlers: Do You Know A Good Thing?
by Pierre Giroux
A nightcrawler is defined as a member of a fictional subspecies who are born with superhuman abilities. It is hard to imagine this is the definition tenor saxophonist Cory Weeds had in mind when he brought this band back together for a recording session. Possibly, he might have been thinking about the funky organ-based recordings exemplified by the Blue Note (1963) recording entitled Never Let Me Go with organist Shirley Scott, along with tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, conguero Ray Barretto, ...
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