Vancouver Jazz Orchestra: Vancouver Jazz Orchestra Meets Brian Charette

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 the programme with lively swagger. Its spacious voicings and shifting rhythms help the band find its groove. Charette settles in early, his pedal bass steady and unhurried. Kaldestad's tenor saxophone phrasing seamlessly guides the arrangement. The late great Vancouver tenor saxophonist Ross Taggart wrote "Don't Call Before 10" and, with an arrangement by Jill Townsend, is presented here as a tribute to him. With its funky tempo, Charette's organ is especially expressive, functioning more as a halo of sound than a driving force. Andy Hunter's trombone blends seamlessly into the inner voices, adding depth and warmth. Sharon Minemoto's writing introduces a contrasting lyricism. "As Luck Would Have It" unfolds with quiet assurance; its harmonic turns are subtly surprising. Charette shades the ensemble with soft organ swells that subtly guide the emotional flow. Trumpeter Brad Turner moves the arrangement forward not with dramatic lines but with small, meaningful details.

Cushioned by the propulsive rhythms established by drummer Jesse Cahill and percussionist Jack Duncan, the only outside composition, Herbie Hancock's, "The Sorcerer," is approached with respect and imagination by the VJO, opening up the tune's mysterious harmonies and angular lines without draining them of their original intent. Charette's organ adds a darker, more elastic dimension to the familiar spell, while Turner navigates the number's shifting moods with precision. Lead alto saxophonist James Danderfer's "Oh Brother" leans into a mellow, Latin-tinged groove; its relaxed pulse and gently syncopated figures give the chart a warm, bright character. Charette rides the rhythm with easy sway rather than fervour, while the brass responds in smooth, conversational phrases that enhance the tune's laid-back charm.

Brian Charette's original composition, "Honeymoon Phase," has an introspective sound built on a relaxed yet quietly persistent approach. His keyboard style is expressive, weaving lyrical lines through the ensemble while still providing the harmonic foundation that holds the band together. They respond warmly, giving the piece a radiant quality.

The finale is another Danderfer opus titled "The Same Old You With The Same Old Blues." This is a funky, hard-swinging blues driven by Charette's wailing Hammond B3, providing the track with both grit and lift. The chart opens up plenty of space for solo voices, with tenor saxophonist Cory Weeds delivering full-bodied lines that dig deep into the groove, followed by trombonist Nebyu Yohannes with a broad, blues-soaked statement, and trumpeter Derry Byrne who caps the sequence with bright, incisive phrasing. As debut recordings go, this release is remarkably assured as it honours craft, community, and continuity, values on which jazz has always depended.

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