Jazz and Improvised

The Least Greatest Hits Vol.1 & 2 - Worst Pop Band Ever (Drew Birston; Adrean Farrugia; Chris Gale; Dafydd Hughes; LEO37; Tim Shia)

The Least Greatest Hits Vol.1 & 2
Worst Pop Band Ever (Drew Birston; Adrean Farrugia; Chris Gale; Dafydd Hughes; LEO37; Tim Shia)
Independent n/a (wpbe.bandcamp.com/album/the-least-greatest-hits-vol-1-2)

The somewhat whimsical name of this genre-bending jazz ensemble belies the clear excellence of the exceptional musicians and composers who founded the group more than two decades ago – and continue to record, write and tour throughout Canada, North America and the immediate world! With the release of their new two-volume collection, the group re-visits, explores and in some cases re-imagines 15 memorable compositions that have been a solid part of this popular group’s diverse repertoire. The majority of the compositions here were penned by the ensemble and are described as having influences that range from Wayne Shorter and J Dilla to Levon Helm.

This group dances on that fine line between improvisational jazz and indie pop, and is always full of surprises and fresh perspectives. The superb Toronto-based core ensemble includes upright and electric bassist Drew Birsten, pianist/keyboardist Adrean Farrugia, Chris Gale on tenor and baritone sax, Dafydd Hughes on synths and keyboards, turntable-est/vocalist LEO37 and drummer/percussionist/synthesist Tim Shia. The luminous guest artists on the project include vocalists Caity Gyorgy, Elizabeth Shepherd and Rhonda Stakich as well as trumpeter Rebecca Hennessy and soprano saxophonist Hsien Minyen.

Included in the wealth of fine material here are several standouts, including Shia’s Love is for Losers, which features a moving piano solo from Farrugia as well as a stunning tenor solo from Gale, enhanced by an ironic and groovy lyric rendered by Gyorgy. Vacation for the Emotionally Challenged is a funky, percussive dive propelled by Shia’s skilled percussion work, and the sumptuous blues Too Much News again highlights Farrugia’s gorgeous technique on Rhodes. Other gems include Year of the Tiger and Believe Beleft Below – all rendered with consummate musicianship, taste and even a bit of humour!

Daybreak - Matt Greenwood

Daybreak
Matt Greenwood
Independent (mattgreenwood.bandcamp.com)

Guitarist Matt Greenwood returns with his sophomore album Daybreak, which he aptly describes as “diving deeper into guitar-driven sonic landscapes with renewed purpose.” The album is substantially more “produced” than its 2023 predecessor Atlas, and Greenwood uses studio technology to craft a lush aesthetic atop an intimate guitar-trio base.

Born in Zimbabwe, Greenwood earned his undergraduate degree in Toronto, where he was introduced to bassist Mike Downes and drummer Mark Kelso. Zimbabwean percussionist Othnell “Mangoma” Moyo guests on the tracks 1000 Paper Cranes and Guide My Hand, lending them their own unique sound without altering the album’s stylistic tone. The latter track brought to mind a phrase a jazz purist colleague used to say, along the lines of “this is what pop music would sound like in a perfect world.” That idea resurfaced several times while listening to Daybreak, as its compositions and arrangements blend elements of indie, folk, and pop while incorporating enough harmonic sophistication to engage even the most esoteric listeners.

Downes and Kelso are perfectly versatile personnel for this genre-eschewing album, adding sensitivity to rambunctious moments, and confidence to subtler ones. The ensemble’s sounds are recorded immaculately, which is a commendable feat with music this dynamic. Greenwood’s writing makes use of Downes’ consummate bow playing on several melodies, adding yet another dimension to the diversity of sounds. Daybreak should appeal to listeners across the gamut of genres, which is a recommendation in itself.

Kinda Out West - Aretha Tillotson

Kinda Out West
Aretha Tillotson
Bent River Records BRR-202508CD (arethatillotson.bandcamp.com/album/kinda-out-west)

Aretha Tillotson teaches bass and theory at MacEwan University in Edmonton and has played with many prominent jazz groups over the past several years including touring with the Ingrid and Christine Jensen quintet. In 2024 she won a Western Canadian Music Award for Jazz Artist of the Year. Kinda Out West is her second album as leader and I imagine the title is a reference to Sonny Rollins’ Way Out West (1957) which has just bass and drums behind Sonny’s tenor.

Kinda Out West has a similarly sparse instrumentation with Ingrid (trumpet) and Christine (alto sax) Jensen along with Dave Laing on drums and Tillotson on bass. Tillotson has written all nine unique and bopping tunes on this album. Jill of All gives us a sonically edgy melody while maintaining an awesome bass/drum groove. Christine Jensen begins her solo with a (Rollins) Pent Up House quote and then moves into a melodic flurry with a sweet wailing tone reminiscent of Ornette Coleman.

The title tune begins with a tasty and bouncy drum solo and then moves into a happy and loopy melody played with trumpet and alto sax. Eventually the bass picks up the melody and extrapolates it into several marvelous ideas while maintaining the bounce. Sphere of Influence’s melody has definite similarities to Monk’s Well You Needn’t while the improvisations move far beyond mere imitation.

Kinda Out West is quirky and inventive and each musician is allowed to showcase their own style while contributing to a fabulous collective effort.

Short Stories - Don Macdonald; David Restivo; Mike Rud; Jill McKenna; Joel Fountain

Short Stories
Don Macdonald; David Restivo; Mike Rud; Jill McKenna; Joel Fountain
Independent (donmacdonald.bandcamp.com/album/short-stories)

In-your-face instrumentation from the first few chords, sweet velvety delivery from MacDonald with great rhythmic finesse, lyrics that are direct and concise. There is a prevailing immediacy to proceedings here, making it no trouble at all to feel immediately anchored to the presentness of the here and now.

The mere recording quality of a session is not something often worth remarking on, but there is staggering definition given to the absolute tippy-top of each and every piano voicing, each pizzicato pluck, every brushstroke, the tail end of each fricative consonant. The listener is never left with anything but a fulsome image of the combo, never yearning for the further prominence of any single element. Due to the album title, one might notice the various forms of storytelling at play here. MacDonald’s syllabic placement, time feel and seamless use of emphasis grants these words a unique emotional quality. Then there are the words themselves, intimate and making spellbinding use of perspective. Lastly, brevity itself is as effective a narrative tool as anything else here, almost acting as its own character.

Seven originals, three re-interpretations – and the less versed when it comes to the Great American Songbook would hardly hear the difference – these songs just have that classic quality about them. Oh, and that Bob Dylan rendition? Exquisite.

Forgotten Stories Suite - Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra; Sean Irvine

Forgotten Stories Suite
Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra; Sean Irvine
Chronograph Records CR-118 (winnipegjazzorchestra.bandcamp.com/album/forgotten-stories-suite)

This is, simply put, big band music as a creative medium done justice.

Sean Irvine provides the poetry, lyrics and music for the entire suite, and really achieves something special. There is multi-disciplinary artistry where each arrow in one’s quiver is given its own treatment, its own time of day, its own level of care. This is another kind entirely, one where Irvine completely renders distinctions between these artforms unimportant, or even obsolete, showing that one can indeed be an extension of another.

Music provides colour to these words as organic as the act of breathing. The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra is more than a mere mouthpiece for one person’s vision too. Quinn Greene’s recitations give the text heft and impact. Karly Epp’s vocals act as a translator from English to the sublime. The dynamism and interplay of the horns act as punctuation, spiritual grammar, and they offer moments that speak for themselves, such as the low brass hit prior to the line “...fear of the unseen” in 2 Brothers.

The rhythm section switches up the groove enough times to make one’s head pirouette. As the suite consists of five distinct yet profoundly interrelated movements, Irvine’s brush strokes trawl and traverse the continuum between macro and micro narrative gestures. At its core, this is music about resilience through trauma, and stands as a towering testament to the healing powers of community. Big band music done justice, because it is about justice.

Kind Words - Raquel Marina

Kind Words
Raquel Marina
Independent n/a (raquelmarina.bandcamp.com/album/kind-words)

Raquel Marina’s artistry holistically shines through on her debut collection of all-original music. The songs are immensely intricate, vivid paintings of language, harmony and tone that constantly reward every additional detail the ear may pick up on repeat listenings.

There is an incredible equilibrium struck between sonic cohesion and track-for-track diversity, with the entire spectrum of emotive and melodic expression feeling blanketed by the time the needle finally lifts. Thoughts of You being sequenced second in the tracklist might exemplify this effect the most, with its building tension around a one note pedal and mesmerizing horn figures echoing the peaks of Marina’s phrasings coalescing to give a strikingly heavy mournful feeling, the kind of watershed moment that might more typically cap off an album side.

Even at a lean seven songs however, this album has no shortage of these instances that feel drenched in meaning. The soloing throughout is top notch, and each improviser comes across almost verse-like in their approach to being in dialogue with Marina’s songwriting. Julien Bradley-Combs’ guitar solo on May You Know is for all intents and purposes, a tonal continuation of the inquisitive, conversational themes established in the lyrics. My Bohemian Hour deserves a special mention for being a show-stopping ballad, a soberingly minimalistic performance and an incredibly lucid piece of poetry.

Listen to 'Kind Words' Now in the Listening Room

Presencia - Nebbia / Banner / Andrzejewski

Presencia
Nebbia / Banner / Andrzejewski
ears&eyes records EE 25-245 (camilanebbia.bandcamp.com/album/presencia)

A truly integrated trio, Presencia’s nine group-composed tracks highlight the interactive skills of Berlin-based young veteran improvisers: Argentinean tenor saxophonist Camila Nebbia, UK bassist James Banner and German drummer Max Andrzejewski. They combine without artifice in perfectly timed sequences that move from dissonant to delicate. Although Nebbia’s reed textures are most upfront with tropes ranging from honking wallows to thinning whistles and note bending smears, Andrzejewski’s paradiddles, ruffs and cymbal splashes constantly expand the tracks’ rhythmic centre, while Banner’s resounding strums and occasional arco thrusts solidify low-pitched evolution while sketching out clenched string stains that colour the trio’s interactions.

String thumps and clunking drum smacks frame shaking acrid reed whistles that define the widening interface on Plateau/Her Name Causes Shudders for instance, while on Arid a wallowing exposition is defined by the saxophonist’s stentorian buzzes and whistles, with bass string pumps underlying the few brief pivots to straight-ahead open-horn sound elaborations.

Lyrical or treble toned sequences are secondary to note-bending and percussive narratives from the trio members. As well, unexpected taut string bowing, slippery elevated reed tones and slick percussion accents throughout confirm the individuality and versatility of the group. Plus the three’s determined and unambiguous presence provides an introduction to, or another instance of, talent confirming from musicians who will definitely have more to communicate from now on.