Jazz and Improvised

Black New Moon
Steve Koven; Pedro Orrego
(blacknewmoon.bandcamp.com/album/black-new-moon)

After working together on instrumental film cues, Torontonians Steve Koven and Pedro Orrego agreed to collaborate and create music together. Self-titled Black New Moon is their innovative, improvised/composed 12-track release of eight instrumental and four vocal pieces, linked by their self-described “mode of reflection, openness and quiet yearning.” 

Koven is a jazz pianist, composer, performer, producer and educator. Orrego is a guitarist, director, producer, writer of documentaries, TV series and specials. They improvised then layered/composed, performed (on many instruments), produced and mixed these 11 tracks. Orrego sang and wrote three of the songs. Guest Aron Slipacoff contributes lyrics and vocals on one track. 

Opening Lotus Rising introduces their compassionate music with a slow held note, keyboard lines and chords, and a multitude of atmospheric sounds. Falling Prey has very tonal repeated pop-like passages with clear vocals and sound splashes, with suddenly slower guitar lines, sound washes and percussion beats. Alternating tonal and new music sounds accompany Orrego’s vocals like “I never knew now.” Change of feel in Slipacoff’s Something Mystic with repeated shorter instrumental lines, colourful melodica interludes, and emotional tonal vocals “I’m lost, but I’m optimistic.” 

The title track has slower legato lines, keyboard, guitar, electronic sounds and passionate Orrego vocals. “Traditional” harmonic modulations lead to a reflective instrumental ending. From the Water… has held notes, percussive taps like water dripping, high-pitched keyboard staccato notes and chords, and volume changes.

Innovative compositions and intriguing performances make Black New Moon an unforgettable experience. The recording is dedicated to the late Henk Melles, who created the artwork for the album.

The Sorceress
Audrey Ochoa
Chronograph Records (chronographrecords.com/releases/the-sorceress/)

There are very diverse influences, arrangements and compositional approaches to be found on Edmonton trombonist and composer Audrey Ochoa’s The Sorceress. Sonically, the album runs the gamut from hypnotic beats reminiscent of IDM to breezy infusions of funk and everything in between. The depth of each groove, intricacies of every melody and nuances in the mix make for a uniformly engaging listening experience. Ochoa as soloist and writer acts as a curator of moods, whether it is transporting you to The Green Place or instigating the extrapolation of an entire dynamic between the characters of Petra and Schoobie. Sequencing wise, one track may provide levity, the next may provide clarification and then the next a release of accumulated tension.

The music itself sounds impossibly buttery and smooth without ever being predictable. Feeling is conveyed, but always somewhere along a spectrum rather than one that is easily defined. Organic coalesces into the synthetic, creating something entirely novel, yet never gimmicky. Ochoa’s trombone playing glides effortlessly and freely across whatever foundation is laid down by the graceful rhythm section, colouring in the lines hues of blue and green, much like those that can be found on the album art. 

It is wholly satisfying to observe art where there is palpable intent behind every detail, and yet in the realm of improvised music intent or premeditation is not necessarily the enemy of spontaneity. Above all else, this album could be described as thrilling and adventurous, through channels both pervasive and earnest.

No Goats
Finely Tuned Elephant
Independent (finelytunedelephant.bandcamp.com/album/no-goats)

When looking for ways to describe contemporary jazz fusion releases, “whimsical” is not a word that often comes to mind, but Ottawa’s Finely Tuned Elephant approach their craft with refreshing levels of humour and self-reflexivity. Case in point, are sampled noises from the titular animal in Chunky Monkey coming out of a face-melting solo section. Ensembles not taking themselves too seriously are one thing, but when the degree of musicianship is this high, the broader picture opens up to something truly wonderful. The ingredients are the aforementioned tongue-in-cheek aspect, bass, drums, keys and guitar playing together with pinpoint precision, all with a penchant for wild experimentation thrown in. 

At 48 minutes the album has an addictive quality to it, being that rare combination of accessible and categorization-defying. The title track finishes off proceedings in a deliriously moshable foray through about a dozen complementary groove switches, physics-defying ostinatos and countless cues from subgenres under the progressive umbrella. It shreds at its quietest and entrances at its most brash. In general, the album seems self-aware of how dangerously it dances on the razor’s edge between intrigue and smooth jazz muzak, because every time there’s any sort of let up, new contrasting flavors are thrown into the stew. In squaring the circle of the Finely Tuned Elephant experience, one can obsessively count along or simply enjoy the ride – there’s truly something here for anyone.

In the Wonder of the Night
Angela Verbrugge
Independent DEX101025 (angelaverbrugge.com/in-the-wonder-of-the-night)

Luminous chanteuse, lyricist, composer and producer, Victoria-based Angela Verbrugge has already created quite a stir with the success and international touring in support of her three previous recordings. For the release of her fourth studio release, she presents an inspired, deeply moving duo album with noted New York City based pianist, Ray Gallon. This new project carries the mystical theme of the enchantment of the wee, small hours and the inevitable enhancement of the mystical/intuitive nature of our collective unconscious and shows us how music can be the key to entering that sacred, night-time zone. The recording features five of Verbrugge’s original compositions, as well as beloved standards from iconic tunesmiths Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jimmy Van Heusen and more.

Verbrugge has a crystalline pure and inveigling voice (in the cool 50s style of Joanie Summers or Chris Conner) which lends itself perfectly to the luscious and tasteful piano duets presented here. Verbrugge is an artist who respects melody – not some overheated diva who pumps mindless “originals” into the music-sphere that lack interesting chord progressions, a bridge or a complex lyric.

Of the 11 gems here, of special note is Verbrugge’s Paradise Defined – a clever and ironic lyric with a delicious melody, reminiscent of the great Fran Landesman. Gallon’s solo here is delightfully sparse and rhythmic, celebrating each nuance of the melodic line. Also, I’m 99% Sure of You (her collaboration with multiple JUNO winner Caity Gyorgy) is a tasty confection of a zesty swing interwoven with an ironic and contemporary lyric. Also of note is the inspired medley of Burke and Van Heusen’s Moonlight Becomes You, with Verbrugge and Gyorgy’s title track In the Wonder of the Night. It’s a sheer, jazzy delight.