Jazz and Improvised

Haunted Melody - Peter Campbell; Various artists (including Kevin Turcotte; Bill McBirnie; Adrean Farrugia et al)

Haunted Melody
Peter Campbell; Various artists (including Kevin Turcotte; Bill McBirnie; Adrean Farrugia et al)
Independent (petercampbellmusic.com/music)

A good album is characterized by many different elements, one of them being when it manages to transport us into the mind and deepest feelings of the musician. American Canadian vocalist and producer Peter Campbell’s fourth release is just that – an emotionally charged musical journey where all is bared to the listener. Built on introspection rather than spectacle, the record feels intimate and deliberately restrained, inviting the listener into a quiet, vulnerable space. It lingers long after the final note fades, like the echo of a song drifting down an empty hallway.

Campbell has been influenced by Brazilian and Portuguese music on this album which featurest three pieces by Brazilian composers. This influence is especially prevalent in a tune like Lost in a Summer Night, where a soft, reverberant guitar melody is layered over bossa nova rhythms and keyboards shimmering faintly in the background. The arrangements throughout the record leave plenty of breathing room for the music and emotions to play out in their own ways, nothing feels rushed. One of the most satisfying aspects is the amount of warmth and space that are present, perfectly conveyed by Campbell’s emotionally direct, beautiful vocals, adding just the right amount of reflection to the tunes.

This album is for late nights, quiet rooms and listeners willing to listen beginning to end. In embracing subtlety and sincerity, Campbell delivers a haunting, thoughtful work that resonates precisely because it refuses to shout.

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Grant Stewart: Next Spring - Grant Stewart; Tardo Hammer; Paul Sikivie; Phil Stewart

Grant Stewart – Next Spring
Grant Stewart; Tardo Hammer; Paul Sikivie; Phil Stewart
Cellar Music CMF110223 (grantstewartjazz.bandcamp.com/album/next-spring)

Toronto-born, New York City based Grant Stewart is a masterful tenor saxophonist, composer and producer. Additionally, he is the Director of the revolutionary and free-thinking Tribeca Jazz Institute. With over 20 CDs to his credit, this is Stewart’s fifth album for Cory Weeds and his impressive Cellar Live label. This well conceived project was beautifully recorded at the iconic and legendary Van Gelder Studios. Stewart’s collaborators here are three of the most refreshing and creative jazz artists on the scene today – pianist Tardo Hammer, bassist Paul Sikivie and (brother) Phil Stewart on drums.

The intriguing material on the recording includes rarely performed jazz standards, as well as five original compositions. Stewart was a student of the late, great Barry Harris, and although bop and post bop modalities are wonderfully present in Stewart’s writing and soloing, this is a cutting edge, technically thrilling, contemporary jazz album – rife with emotional depth and totally devoid of any over-trodden licks or trite modalities.

First up is Next Spring by Marvin Jenkins. Stewart’s rich, warm tenor sound is a delight, and the quartet is tight. Hammer takes a dynamic solo here, not only displaying his technical chops, but also his superb choices and lush harmonic ideas. Sikivie and tasty, skilled drummer Stewart are deeply locked in, the bass solo fluid and facile. Wayne Shorter’s immortal, Nefartiti is also stirring, with the ensemble donning a sensual, languid and deeply swinging motif.

A stand-out of this thoughtful programme is Harris’ composition, Father Flanagan, which was written in tribute to genius jazz pianist Tommy Flanagan. Stewart’s sonorous tenor sound, and the depth of sensitivity of the players here is stunning. This inspired recording is nothing short of a master class in the art of the jazz quartet. Every note has been created with skill, creative intention and taste.

Curtains of Light - Whitney Ross-Barris; various artists

Curtains of Light
Whitney Ross-Barris; various artists
Independent (whitneyrb.bandcamp.com/album/curtains-of-light)

Jazz vocalist, pianist and composer, Whitney Ross-Barris’ latest recording is a triumph of musical genre-blending and considerable artistic spelunking into the emotional depths of the things that make us human – including our innate ability to re-emerge into life following adversity through love, connection, creativity and community. A stellar cast was assembled for this project, including Amy Peck on saxophones, Rebecca Hennessy on trumpet, Drew Jurecka on violin and viola, Kevin Fox on cello, co-producer Michael Shand on keyboards/guitar, Eric St. Laurent on guitar, Lauren Falls on bass and Ben Wittman on drums/percussion. All 13 compelling tracks were composed by Ross-Barris and arranged by Shand and Jurecka.

Every offering here is like a meticulously fashioned rare gem, but some clear highlights include the uplifting opener Bourgeois Reverie. Presented with a tasty horn arrangement, this song was inspired by punitive pandemic restrictions and is a reflective idyll on the little niceties of life and the personal connections that we were denied. An engaging and soulful blues, Up in the Night is a masterpiece of Ross-Barris’ technical skill, style, grace and understated elegance, supported by Shand’s B3 as well as supple, and pure backing vocals from Alex Samaras, Gavin Hope, Miku Graham, Mary van den Enden and Yvette Tollar.

Other stand-outs on this unique and delightful recording include the breath-taking, a cappella Sunrise that boasts a superb vocal arrangement by Ross-Barris which seamlessly segues into There You Are, on which Jurecka’s inspired string arrangements are a thing of special, luminous beauty. The closing title track is another stunning ballad, fully realized with sumptuous strings, superb rhythm section and ensemble work, as well as superb and evocative vocals from Ross-Barris.

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Heart’s Pace - Joshua Rager Quartet

Heart’s Pace
Joshua Rager Quartet
Bent River Records BRR-202503CD (joshrager.bandcamp.com/album/hearts-pace)

It’s a mark of excellence when a recording with a guest artist achieves the band dynamic of a group that’s been together for decades. Montreal based pianist Josh Rager, bassist Alec Walkington, and drummer Rich Irwin, certainly have this lineage. The aforementioned guest is New York guitarist Peter Bernstein.

Heart’s Pace doesn’t go out of its way to sound cutting edge, but it also resists any nostalgic trappings of neo-traditional jazz. This aesthetic makes Bernstein a perfect guest, as he has a grounded “old school” sensibility that he brings to 21st century playing. Rager arranged standards like I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face and Henry Mancini’s Dreamsville in an original way, and his original compositions hold their own alongside these classics.

The quartet is captured beautifully at Montreal’s legendary Studio Pierre Marchand, a space revered by local and visiting musicians alike. The sounds are crisp without being sterile, which serves to further elevate and highlight the musicians’ individual artistry. I seldom pick “favourite” tracks when reviewing, but Fathers and Sons encapsulates a lot of what’s great about Heart’s Pace to me. There is complex moving harmony, brilliantly navigated in solos by Bernstein and Rager, placed atop a rock-solid swing feel from Walkington and Irwin.

Occasionally I’d like to hear a take with longer solos by the band, but that’s a common paradox when recording improvisatory music. If anything, that’s just further impetus to hear these great musicians live, and in the meantime, give Heart’s Pace a listen!

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Words Underlined - Patrick Smith; Lowell Whitty; Dan Pitt

Words Underlined
Patrick Smith; Lowell Whitty; Dan Pitt
Lit Soc Records 001 (litsocrecords.bandcamp.com/album/words-underlined)

Saxophonist Patrick Smith has been a mainstay on the Toronto music scene for several years, carving out a creative and sustainable niche for himself. Words Underlined isn’t commercial or “mainstream,” but Smith is a consummate professional in those worlds, influencing his more adventurous creative playing in a positive way.

Toronto is full of great musicians, but an easy place to get pigeon-holed. Some “creative” players lack a visceral approach gleaned through commercial work, while many commercial players prioritize a well pressed suit over the ability to improvise. Toronto’s historically successful and respected players (Doug Riley and Moe Koffman come to mind) straddled that fine line, and I think Smith is carrying that torch in his own way.

Words Underlined features Dan Pitt on electric guitar and Lowell Whitty on drums. This bass-less format brings to mind drummer Paul Motian’s trio, but influenced or not, Smith’s Words Trio sounds unique. Pitt uses guitar effects in a tasteful way, never over-saturating his sound. Whitty contributes ample groove and embraces sparser moments too. Tracks like Hazel and As Years Go By utilize the intimate nature of the trio format, while parts of Banff demonstrate you don’t need a bassist to rock out.

A versatile group needs a versatile venue, and Sellers and Newel was the perfect place to bring this music to life. I look forward to hearing what’s next from the Words Trio and fledgling Lit Soc Records!

Standard Elegance - Bill Coon

Standard Elegance
Bill Coon
Cellar Music CMF121225 (billcoon.bandcamp.com/album/standard-elegance)

Bill Coon is a Vancouver based jazz guitarist and composer with an over 30-year history playing with many well-known jazz artists including Jimmy Heath, Sheila Jordan, Bucky Pizzarelli and Hugh Fraser. He has also performed on more than 50 recordings and has won “Guitarist of the Year” from the National Jazz Awards. Coon has written works for orchestras from the National Arts Centre, Vancouver, Norwegian Radio and Jill Townsend, as well as big bands and small jazz ensembles.

Coon’s multifaceted activities serve in contrast to Standard Elegance, an exquisite album of jazz classics played on solo guitar. These 13 standards are treated warmly and introspectively by Coon on electric archtop and nylon string guitars. All the Things You Are shows off Coon’s beautiful chord melody skills and he also throws in some contrapuntal lines to contrast with the melody. The Nearness of You begins with some harmonics and sparingly harmonized melody and then slowly progresses through some beautifully arpeggiated chords before ending with the same harmonics. Here’s That Rainy Day has some delightful combinations of arpeggiated chords with just a hint of some bossa nova rhythms.

Standard Elegance is both relaxing and engaging. It is a pleasure to listen to a fine musician displaying his craft.

Northbound to Finch - Maria Kaushansky; Paul Gill; Anthony Pinciotti

Northbound to Finch
Maria Kaushansky; Paul Gill; Anthony Pinciotti
flat 6th records FS-1001 (mariakaushansky.com)

This is New York City-based jazz pianist Maria Kaushansky’s debut album. She was born in Russia, and her family emigrated to Israel. In the early 1990s they moved to Toronto when she was a young girl, where she grew up and went to university. All compositions are by Kaushansky here with nine main tracks and six alternate takes, each being her musical reflection and tribute to growing up in Toronto. She is joined by New Yorkers Paul Gill on bass, and the late Anthony Pinciotti on drums.

Opening title track Northbound to Finch is inspired by the Toronto Transit Commission’s Finch subway station, which was Kaushansky’s home stop. An opening loud repeated piano melody is supported by bass and drums. Happy ”almost home” jazz flavoured piano lines followed by louder sounds from the rhythm section. Sudden soft and slow tight playing is followed by solo piano to silence, like the station stop. Windchill -30, Kaushansky’s music about Toronto winters is so interesting. The solo “low temperature” bass start, then faster with drums, descending bass line like falling down, and piano “shivering” trills express Toronto’s extreme winter temperatures.

Tight trio performances and beautiful creative playing paint a sonic portrait of Toronto. Each listener will have their own story based on listening to the tracks, whether or not you are from or live in Toronto.

Kaushansky has also released a companion album, Northbound to Finch: Music for Ballet Class which has the compositions here adapted for ballet exercises.