Traces
Will Régnier
Independent (willregnier.com)

Will Régnier is a Montreal drummer, composer and producer who has played in progressive rock and jazz bands over the past 15 years while finishing bachelor’s and master’s degrees in jazz performance and composition. Traces is his first album and reveals a calm sophistication, infused with catchy riffs and melodies, with some edgy fusion thrown in for spice. 

The title track demonstrates Regnier’s diverse influences, beginning with a folk-rock arpeggiated guitar intro which then moves into a solid piano melody (doubled with guitar), then some counterpoint between drums and bass; midway through Marcus Lowry performs a beautiful guitar solo with classical undertones. Lights Out opens with a delicately funky bass line and then a subtly distorted and complex guitar melody. Throughout the album there are multiple examples of sophisticated interplay between piano and guitar. The pieces in Traces move effortlessly across styles aided by the accomplished and inspired playing of Régnier, Lowry, Yannick Anctil (piano) and Alex Le Blanc (double bass). Each song mixes composed and improvised sections which showcase evolving narratives. Traces is an excellent debut album and is always compelling.

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Bien ensemble
Mimosa
Cellar Music CMF060623 (mimosamusic.bandcamp.com/album/bien-ensemble)

French/English Vancouver-based jazz quintet Mimosa is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a band in 2024. Their fourth release, Bien ensemble (Good Together) is self-described as being “about connection through friendship and music.” Mimosa’s members’ different backgrounds, personalities and languages inspire unique music from each other, along with jazz, Brazilian sambas, French 60s pop and Cabaret music influences. Mimosa is Rebecca Shoichet (vocals, accordion), Anna Lumière (piano, accordion, Fender Rhodes, organ, Moog, vocals), Karen Graves (sax, flute, vocals), Conrad Good (bass) and Bernie Arai (drums). Special guests here are Heather Anderson (trumpet, flugelhorn) and Susana Williams (percussion).

Lumière composes most of Mimosa’s music. She also collaborates with band members like title track Bien ensemble with Shoichet. Calm opening jazz piano and French vocals develop into faster colourful instrumental solos above a snappy drum backdrop. English vocals return to slower closing. Lumière’s High in the Sky is classic instrumental jazz with quasi backdrop English vocals. Tight ensemble supports many instrumental solos, especially the outstanding trumpet solo. Mimosa’s Graves sings Birds at 4 am, her English composition co-written with B. Murphy. Slow depressing lack of sleep storytelling with piano/drums backdrops to hopeful decrescendo cymbals and piano ending. Guests Anderson and Williams join Mimosa in the closing Lumière track Trouble. The sax solo followed by a subtle accordion solo adds colour and then loud piano chords. Love everyone singing at the ending!  

This release achieves its celebratory purpose as musicians, vocalists, composers along with excellent production, create perfect music!

Accolades of Time
Ruth Saphir
Orchard of Pomegranates (ruthsaphir.com)

With lyrics that poignantly reflect on identity and relationships as they transcend the passage of time, an expressive band that fits this elegant thematic tapestry and a consistently goosebump-inducing vocal performance from Ruth Saphir, Ancestral Shadows is a musical odyssey that feels immensely rewarding with each listen. 

Revolving around the central quartet consisting of Ruth Saphir (voice, flute), Kate Wyatt (piano), Adrian Vedady (bass) and Mili Hong (drums), it truly feels like each musician’s contributions are valued and paced perfectly throughout the album. The incredible one-two punch of Where Do Dreams Go? and Hand-Me-Down-Clothes feature Vedady’s bass as the most prominent instrument in the mix, with the warm breadth of his tone and tasteful nature of his bass lines making every pause in the melody feel full of vitality. This careful, concerted dance between ensemble and songwriter continues in magical moments such as the gradual foray into double time following the effortlessly graceful way Saphir stretches the phrase “I know you wanted to” during Lost at Sea, a swinging number if there ever was one. When we’re in the flow I feel the undertow intrude feels directly addressed to a rhythm section that sits so on top of every beat it practically anticipates it, yet invokes feeling in a very unsuppressed manner.

 Autobiographical in one instant and familiar in the next, this music makes for a truly ecstatic listening experience.

Moon Over Lake
Roddy Ellias
KWIMU Music KW-007 (roddyellias.bandcamp.com/album/moon-over-lake)

When inevitably transfixed and immersed in the sheer lushness that emanates from Roddy Ellias’ guitar, it is easy to forget you’re listening to a collection of songs, rather than one self-contained piece. When faced with such a dizzying array of odd pulses, phrases without clean endings, and several texturally rich sections where Ellias sounds like he has cloned himself, there can arise a temptation to overanalyze, attempting to grasp a firm hold of all that feels increasingly less tangible. To give into these urges keeps the listener at a distance, which stands at odds to the vulnerability of Ellias’ creative endeavour. 

Short, imagery-laden track titles complement the spacious, meditative feeling of listening to multiple voices interacting within one instrument, punctuated by the occasional audible breath (such as the one in Flower) and chord that reverberates through a physical space. Hope deals in resonances, finding hidden melodies within its chordal elements while allowing the inner voices to color much of the mood, each sustained tone lingering as if to convey a sense of yearning. Chant rides an intricate groove through its entire runtime without belabouring it, but always implying it through blissful syncopated runs and occasionally reintroducing its titular refrain in fragments before the triumphant outro. 

Nary a composition here overstays its welcome – the overall listen is quite brisk – but they are all intricate parts of a fulfilling, harmonious whole.

Wintertides
Sam Wilson
Studio 204 (samwilsonmusiq.bandcamp.com)

The state of the Canadian guitar in the key of jazz has never been in such good shape as it is today. You only have to consider the contributions to jazz literature made by such masters as  Ray Norris,Diz Disley, Ed Bickert,Lorne Lofsky, Nelson Symonds, Lenny Breau, Oliver Gannon, Sonny Greenwich, and from Bill Coon to Reg Schwager and Jocelyn Gould. You could fill an entire library of jazz music with those names alone.

To that roster you would have to add the name of Sam Wilson. The young east coast composer and virtuoso instrumentalist displays skill and mature judgement in the performance of her original works. She puts on an exquisite musical display on her fourth recording Wintertides, a homage to the landscapes of the two disparate coastlines of Canada. 

Weaving ornate tapestries featuring wonderfully colour-laden notes and phrases Wilson – together with bassist Gordie Hart and drummer Jen Yakamovich – offer subtle, often striking, interpretations of Wilson’s superbly-crafted and affecting miniatures.  

Despite meditating on the single theme of relocating “bi-coastal” landscapes to a canvas of soundscapes the settings of each of the ten works couldn’t be more different. Melodic lines are eloquently ornamented. Slowly unfolding harmonies are stimulating, heightening the impressive, sweeping canvases from earth to sky. Dancing urgency of rhythms dapple the music as if adding curved brushstrokes to these musical canvases. The Moon Song and Wintertides are masterpieces.

Tidal Currents: East Meets West
Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra
Chronograph Records CR-109 (winnipegjazzorchestra.com/cd-details---tidal-currents--east-meets-west)

Tidal Currents: East Meets West is the latest offering from the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra. It’s the seventh release by this ensemble, and fits beautifully into their catalogue without sounding derivative or too similar to their previous recordings. Composers Jill Townsend and Christine Jensen provide the repertoire, based on themes from their respective upbringings on the East and West coasts of Canada. United in the landlocked geographical center of the country, the WJO gives a slick and polished performance of pieces by both composers, featuring soloists from the group as well as Jensen on soprano saxophone. 

“Short but sweet” is the best way to describe Tidal Currents, at a runtime of just under 30 minutes. If the group had decided to add an additional track or two, they would not be unwelcomed, but after several listens through the album in its entirety, I’m not left feeling owed anything either. We have gone from an era of 70-plus minute CDs to one focused more around singles and EPs. Whether this programming choice was deliberate or not, Tidal Currents might just be the perfect length to satiate the modern attention span. 

It is an impressive feat that the album’s four tracks alternate composers while still functioning together as a suite. This is a testament to both the ensemble playing, and visions of the composers. There is unity throughout an organic set of music, but ample contrast to keep listeners engaged. Albums may be getting shorter, but this means us listeners have no excuse not to digest statements like Tidal Currents in their entirety as intended.

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Horns of Hope
Aimee-Jo Benoit; The New Assembly
Chronograph Records (chronographrecords.com/releases/horns-of-hope)

Calgary-based jazz vocalist/composer, Aimee-Jo Benoit has just released her sophomore recording – a compelling, highly creative collection of music that is a joyous celebration of some of her most seminal influences including songs from Canadian luminaries kd lang, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Daniel Lanois and Sarah Harmer. Benoit’s voice is a warm, rich, sonorous instrument – and like a fine violin, and through her masterful communication skills, she is capable of transporting the listener to any emotional plateau desired. Joining Benoit on this exceptional recording are a fine Calgary-based ensemble, including arranger Carsten Rubeling on trombone, Mark De Jong on tenor saxophone and trombone, Andre Wickenheiser on trumpet and a tight rhythm section comprised of bassist Jon Wielebknowski, keyboardist Augustine Yates and drummer Dan Gaucher.

The eight-track programme (including one original from Benoit) kicks off with Barefoot, filled with powerful horn lines, dynamic rhythms and a pitch-pure, velvet-like vocal, which wraps itself around every part of lang’s lyrical poetry, and Rubeling’s innovative and stirring horn-infused arrangement is nothing short of magnificent. A dynamic solo from Wickenheiser is a highlight, as well as the stripped-down coda. 

Other delights include a refreshing take on Mitchell’s Little Green, infusing the tune with jazz elements that would delight Mitchell. Goucher’s gorgeous bass work holds this beautiful tune lovingly in his hands. Harmer’s notable You Were Here is presented in the stark resonance of De Jong on baritone, eventually joined by the full ensemble. Benoit sails through and above everything – gracing all with a brush of the wings of her magnificent voice, her skills and her taste.

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Fatrasies
François Houle; Kate Gentile; Alexander Hawkins
Victo cd 137 (victo.qc.ca)

Three masters of the improv craft from three different countries confirm not only creative music’s universality but also how so-called abstract music can be as definitive as any other. Each of the five instant compositions blend American Kate Gentile’s restrained drum pops and rumbles, the UK’s Alexander Hawkins’ refractive pianism ranging from meditative to mauling and Canadian François Houle’s output from two clarinets and electronics that encompasses textures ranging from hissing trills to bagpipe-like drones.

Used sparingly to amplify tones, electronics underline Houle’s versatility since by playing both clarinets at once or dismantling them for extra timbres he produces distinctive sounds from the near opaque to free-flowing. Not to be outdone, Hawkins creates immediate responses to either player’s musical thrusts. For instance on La petite bête he doubles his speed to intersect with the clarinetist’s rappelling up the scale. On Tart ara mon cueur, as blowsy basset clarinet tones widen and intensify, the pianist moves from gentle clinks to splayed percussive pedal action. Gentile responds quickly as well and hard thumps plus cymbal colours join the piano patterns to properly frame Houle’s dual clarinet output so that it becomes moderate and linear.

There are numerous instances of the interaction flowing the other way such as electronic whizzes meeting piledriver piano runs or hollow-sounding reed flutters extending an a capella piano introduction.  The (so-far) shared democratic heritage of these countries could serve as a metaphor for how well these three interact.

Crayonnage
Brûlez les meubles
Tour de bras/Cicrum Disc 900070cd/microcidi 035 (tourdebras.com/album/crayonnage)

Proof that quiet improvising can be as compelling as faster, louder music comes from this Québecois quartet. Based around the harmonies and broken-chord narratives of guitarist Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonnière and electric bassist Éric Normand, Jonathan Huard’s vibraphone pings further embellish the 12 tunes while drummer Tom Jacques’ whaps and slaps keep the pieces fluidly linear.

Reflective and relaxed are the adjectives applied to most tracks as guitar strings soar, echo and frail, matched in lockstep by bass strokes. Nonetheless calm shouldn’t be confused with casualness. Tunes like sous les assauts du soleil reveal the drama and emotion that goes into such systematic strategy. Ringing guitar/bass chords showcase and then relax the pressure that initially creates this mixture of light and dark tones. Regardless, it’s the brief empattement which fully defines the entire band’s sympathetic connection. While initial guitar twangs and thumping bass responses suggest the group is heading towards Metal, Jacques’ use of mid-range clips not backbeats confirms the quartet’s creative non rock music stance.

The concluding extended group improv estompes substantiates this. Atmospheric and expressive, Normand’s use of electronics for backing rustles and a looped pulse allows Beaudoin-de la Sablonnière to add a sitar-like echo and ratcheting frails to his tone variations, as the vibist and drummer speed up the backing with temperate textures that are decorative without being delicate. 

The moderation expressed on Crayonnage may draw in and be a pleasant surprise for those who eschew improv.

Accidentals
Don Fiorino; Andrew Haas
Independent (american-nocturne.bandcamp.com/album/accidentals)

Don Fiorino (guitar, glissentar, lap steel, bass, banjo, lotar, mandolin and more) has collaborated for over two decades with Andrew Haas (saxophone) and Accidentals is their third album. Each of the relatively short pieces is a freeform investigation of experimental sound collaborations. Talismanic has percussion (could be a pot banging) with a stringed instrument (could be a bass or low tuned guitar) and the saxophone uses mostly the altisimo range. But it really grooves and its trance-like determination drags you along. Phat Flutter contains a lot of fluttering saxophone sounds with a few multiphonics thrown in over percussive strings. 

All the pieces successfully create unique universes in their short durations and also include humour. They seem to be implying: life is short so push the envelope. Obscure fact: Haas, who spends most of the album using only extended techniques, is the same saxophone player who can be heard on the 80s hit Echo Beach (by Toronto’s Martha and the Muffins). He has expanded his playing in amazing ways over those decades. Fiorino comes up with a truckload of sounds from a wide assortment of stringed instruments and constantly provides esoteric but infectious grooves. Accidentals is inventive, fascinating and very deliberate.

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Heart Trio
William Parker; Cooper-Moore; Hamid Drake
Aum Fidelity AUM118-2 (aumfidelity.com)

Cereal Music
William Parker; Ellen Christi
Aum Fidelity AUM119-2 (aumfidelity.com)

The words “ancient to the future” may sound like a Zen Koan to those befuddled by their meaning. However, it describes William Parker perfectly because of all the musicians alive today – and many no longer with us – no one but Parker seems to travel back and forth through the music continuum; an earthling making music in a glorious arc between earth and sky traversing back and forth between Mother Africa and the Americas, Europe and the near and far east. Indeed, Parker is a musician unlike any other, cut from an artistic cloth, both ancient and modern. 

I have listened to these two recordings – Heart Trio and Cereal Music – intermittently for several weeks, and the capacity of Parker’s music to linger – to evolve inside the inner ear once the sounds themselves have breathed their last – leaves a nourishing post-listening afterglow.

As a card-carrying, dyed-in-the-wool member of the William Parker (the composer) fan club I confess to also being a longtime subscriber to his belief in Universal Tonality (also a two-disc recording dedicated to this concept, released on Centering Records in 2023). In notes to that recording that are characteristically enigmatic and mystical, Parker writes that “When a feather falls and touches the ground music begins. Nothing is said. There are no keys, no chord changes, modes, or notations… we speak different languages, but we feel each other. The music guides us. All we have to do is listen. All we have to do is feel. The sky, mountains, and trees all understand Universal Tonality and they always have.” He also sees “…many musicians carrying all kinds of musical instruments. From all over the world.” And so on, as he lures you into his musical manifesto.

Parker also “plays” – as he puts it – “inside the rainbow.” This is far from delirium. It is the voice of a griot and a shaman rolled into one. His music poses existentialist musical questions such as those raised by John Cage’s 4’33”, Parker’s music privileges active listening over hearing. 

As multi-instrumentalist and poet who often recites his verses, Parker’s recording Heart Trio includes two like-minded musicians. One is the percussion colourist Cooper-Moore (playing ashimba and hoe-handle harp), and the other is the frame drummer Hamid Drake, who also sits in on a drum set. The resulting music is the epitome of Parker’s conception of Universal Tonality. 

Employing the West African doson ngoni (a stringed instrument made of wood or calabash) that stands in for the bass, a bevy of flutes and the double-reed bass dudek, Parker weaves often amorphous melodic, harmonic and rhythmic lines into the colourful percussive sounds issued by Cooper-Moore and Drake. Thus, we meet Five Angels by the Stream, wraith-like and ephemeral. The blaring cityscape in Serbia co-exists with the glacial quietude from its countryside. We also meet personalities such as Japanese trumpeter Toshinoro Kondo and legendary drummer Rafael Garrett in portrait pieces. The celebratory Afri-centric Processional brings this remarkable recording to a close, but not before we might feel the music pulsating from inside the heart itself.

The recording Cereal Music is a metonymic feature for Parker and Ellen Christi, both of whom recite – Parker also chants bringing his velvet tenor to bear on his idiomatic poetry – and both serve up the music as if on an edible table of plenty. Parker also returns to playing the contrabass, and an array of flutes. The portraits of the late tenor saxophone player Kidd Jordan and Sonny (for the retired tenor saxophone titan, Sonny Rollins) are timeless. Parker’s recitation and instrumental connective tissue melts into Christi’s atmospheric sound design. Elsewhere on this 15-track set, on Birth and Death chromatic notes sigh, but the harmonic cushioning rarely falls where you anticipate. The pinnacle – to my mind – is We Are Very Civilised with his Afri-centric rhythms, propelled by the shimmering chimes of the Moroccan qraqeb – a large iron castanet-like musical instrument primarily used as the rhythmic aspect of Gnawa music into which the musicians expertly gravitate. By now, we realise that Parker is also immersed in the gnawa tradition of Morocco, drawing a very willing Christi in his wake.

7th Avenue South
Jon Gordon
ArtistShare ASO229 (artistshare.com/projects/experience/?artistID=64&projectId=533)

There are precious few first call jazz artists who have not only paid their professional dues, but who have also developed their own unique sound, compositional skill and a style that is informed by (but not derivative of) the giants of jazz that have influenced them. Jon Gordon is one of those amazing individuals and is one of the leading lights of the alto and soprano sax. Gordon’s latest offering is a love letter to the vibrant Greenwich Village jazz scene of the early 80’s, a time where you could saunter down the street to the Village Vanguard, Sweet Basil, Bradley’s, the Knickerbocker and, of course, the Brecker Brothers’ 7th Avenue South. 

This fertile area was ground zero for the jazz world. Young Gordon was a witness to this seminal scene, and it shaped and molded the skilled saxophonist that he was then and is now. Additionally, the personnel on this recording has been well selected, and every track is exquisite. Aside from two tunes, all compositions here were written and arranged by Gordon – who now influences young jazz musicians as a professor at The University of Manitoba.

The opener, Witness, draws the listener in with a contrapuntal vocal section, which turns into an almost melancholy motif, rife with emotion. Will Bonness on piano and the thrilling work of percussionist Fabio Ragnelli and bassist Julian Bradford complete the haunting intro, which segues into the title tune, a complex, swinging arrangement involving the entire complement. Also outstanding are Ed’s Groove and the thought-provoking Visit. Gordon’s alto solo here is luscious and complex, as is the work of exquisite trumpeter John Challoner. The boppish Spark is also a treat, as is the brilliantly written and executed reprise of the title tune. A triumph!

Hendrik Meurkens – The Jazz Meurkengers
w/Ed Cherry; Nick Hempton; Steve Ash; Chris Berger; Andy Watson
Cellar Music CMR080824 (hendrikmeurkens.bandcamp.com)

There’s just something charming and captivating in the mellow, reedy timbre of the harmonica that instantly reels in the attention of the listener. Renowned harmonicist Hendrik Meurkens shows his incredible skills once again on his latest release. Not only does his very apparent love for the instrument shine through clearly, but his compositional talent is also showcased on several of the tracks. This record is also special because it is the debut of his new project “The Jazz Meurkengers,” featuring longtime musician friends such as Ed Cherry on guitar, Steve Ash on piano and Chris Berger on bass. Supported by a stellar band, the album is full of refreshing energy and creativity where each musician has the opportunity to show their talents. 

What really makes this record unique and interesting is the mellow, sultry tone within the tunes. Achieving a completely smooth, connected sound from the harmonica is a truly tough endeavour; legendary Toots Thielmans and Meurkens are among a small group of jazz harmonicists that have ever been able to achieve that feat. Adding to the quiet energy and allure of the album are the pleasant riffs of Cherry and soaring saxophone melodies of Nick Hempton overlaying Andy Watson’s driving rhythms. The record also features a touching, bluesy tribute to Thielmans in A Tear for Toots, where the sadness felt for the loss of the celebrated musician is thoroughly expressed in Meurkens’ sorrowful harmonica line.

Time Again
Benjamin Koppel; Brian Blade; Anders Koppel
Cowbell Music 89 (cowbellmusic.dk/products/koppel-blade-koppel-time-again-cd)

Sunny mid-summer days call for scorching rhythms and sizzling melodies to get your feet moving. This latest release by famed group Koppel-Blade-Koppel brings just that to the table, a perfect musical accompaniment to vacations and parties alike. Featuring the all-star musical father-son duo of organist Anders Koppel and alto saxophonist Benjamin Koppel with the addition of renowned drummer Brian Blade, each piece is elevated to new musical heights. With the exception of one, all tracks are penned by the Koppels, making this a delightful compilation of new tracks. If you’re on the hunt for fresh music that gets you grooving and also delves into your emotions, this is the album for you. 

The record is incredibly multi-faceted, with both thoughtful pieces interspersed with rhythmic tunes and a certain contagious energy running throughout. Right away, the first song Puerto Rican Rumble starts with an infectious bass groove that doesn’t let up during the duration of the piece and combined with Blade’s continuous rhythms and riveting saxophone melodies, makes for a positively bopping piece. In contrast, If You Forget Me takes it down a notch, with Koppel Jr.’s bluesy, soulful sax line just tugging at the heart strings and creating a beautiful, melancholy soundscape. What makes the record such an incredible musical journey is that it manages to both feel new and like a nostalgic throwback simultaneously. A hark back to different times, bringing that complexity and emotion into today’s world.

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Being Human
Lynne Arriale; Alon Near; Lukasz Zyta
Challenge Records CR 73572 (lynnearriale.com/shop/being-human-1)

Luminous pianist, composer and arranger Lynne Arriale has graced the stages of the most prestigious temples of jazz throughout the world and with the release of her 17th recording, Arriale is joined by internationally renowned musicians, bassist Alon Near and drummer Lukasz Zyta. Ten moving and insightful original compositions are included in this jazz suite, with Arriale having taken inspiration from remarkable individuals such as environmental activist Greta Thunberg and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, as well as from positive human qualities and the variety of emotions and needs that we all share – musically and etherically eclipsing the “great lie” of human separatism.  

First up is Passion dedicated to Thurnberg. This arrangement is rife with youthful enthusiasm, tinged by the melancholy of the high emotional price that young people can pay for their dedicated, nascent mono-vision, having connected with their pure, focus-driven path early on. Written by Arialle for the Human Race, Love is stunningly beautiful, and a reminder of how unique every soul is and that the potential for illumination resides in each one of us. Arriale’s playing here embraces both the contrapuntal aspects of a classical composition, as well as a refreshing purity and simplicity. Near and Zyta are in a rarefied communicative state with Arriale, at once supportive and creative, imbuing each nuance with their individual sound and skill.

Highlights include the free Curiosity, dedicated to autistic mathematician/physicist Jacob Barnett, where universal mysteries and chaos are plumbed. The swinging Soul (dedicated to Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate) is a groovy, rhythmic trip that not only features a hard-driving four from the rhythm section, but Arriale’s dynamism and encyclopedic knowledge of the bop canon. The suite closes with a reprise of Love utilizing “voices” on the Yamaha Clavinova, which underscore faith in humanity and a mutual commitment to unity and a brighter, inclusive future.