Jazz and Improvised

Forbidden West
Robert Lee; various artists
In The Sun Records ITSCD 102 (inthesunrecords.com/robert-lee-forbidden-west)

Within a country that celebrates multiculturalism as Canada does, it’s truly great to see a musician with a diverse cultural heritage diving into where his roots come from. Such is the focus of Canadian-born Korean bassist and composer Robert Lee’s newest record. In his own words, he has “delved deeper into exploring his identity as a Korean Canadian, questioning what it means to simultaneously straddle two contrasting cultural identities.” He has showcased this exploration in a beautiful way in his compositions. The album features some renowned players, such as Allison Au on the saxophone, Andrew McCarthy on drums and Todd Penteny on piano. It is also a treat to see several Asian-identifying musicians featured, adding to the authenticity of the cultural experience of the tunes. 

What really stands out is a certain openness and soul-baring quality, present throughout the album. It is as if Lee is exposing a part of his soul and being, exploring his multifaceted cultural background and the struggles - but mostly positivity - which comes out of trying to balance two cultures simultaneously. Lee manages to prolifically weave elements of Korean traditional music into his modern compositions, the zither-like sound of the gayageum, played by Roa Lee, intertwining with expressive bass melodies, soaring saxophone solos and captivating piano chords which are reminiscent of the pentatonic scale often used in Asian cultures. If you’re looking for a true cultural and musical experience in one, this album is for you.

Little Knox
Gary Williamson Trio
Modica Music (modicamusic.bandcamp.com/album/little-knox)

The late inspired and inspiring jazz pianist, Gary Williamson, left us in 2019. Although a much-in-demand figure in the Toronto/Canadian jazz scene and his musical legacy is extensive (including jazz education and sharing the stage with an impressive array of jazz luminaries), it still seems as if Williams was under-acknowledged. Although often compared to the iconic Bill Evans, ironically, he rarely listened to Evans. Williamson’s intuitive melodic ideas, his technical facility and of course his deep understanding of lyrics – the intent of a tune, and of a particular song’s emotional vocabulary – are his own.

Modica Music has just released this posthumous, historic and pristine trio album,  recorded at Williamson’s home on August 12 and 15, 2003. Joining Williamson on the date was  the iconic percussionist Marty Morrell and bassist Dave Young. Beautifully produced by noted bassist, Roberto Occhipinti, the CD features 14 tracks – an elegant mash up of gorgeous ballads, jazz standards and bebop burners. This fine CD (Williamson’s only trio recording) is not only a tribute to a magnificent musician, but it should be a primer to every emerging jazz musician.  

Although every track is a gem, a highlight is Fun Ride. On this snappy opener, Williamson’s dynamic, lush sound is literally breathtaking, and the work of Morrell and Young is both enhancing and supportive – just as it should be. Williamson’s facile pianistic attack insures that every melodic nuance lays itself before his feet. His soloing is exquisite and takes a swinging turn when Morrell switches from brushes to sticks. The title track, Little Knox, again showcases Williamson’s incredible sensitivity, enhanced by Morrell’s brilliant percussive choices. Also superb are Williamson’s delicious, swinging performance on Rodgers and Hart’s classic I Didn’t Know What Time it Was, and of sheer, nearly unbearable beauty is the trio’s rendition of Ellington’s sensual ballad, Prelude to a Kiss.

The Lockdown Sessions
106 Ontario Collective
Modica Music (modicamusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-lockdown-sessions)

Roberto Occhipinti is truly a jack of all trades, staunchly eschewing the “master of none” trap that can accompany that descriptor. He is a multi-genre bassist, a contractor of bands and orchestras, a music educator, and someone who’s occupied most roles in countless recording studios. Occhipinti’s latest offering The Lockdown Sessions features its leader not only performing the double-bass parts but producing and mixing the record as well. 

It’s essentially three albums in one, featuring two trios and a quartet. Maybe 2.5, as the final product comes out to 13 tracks. This is too much music to describe track by track in a short review, but each group has a distinct sound that gives a great context through which to discuss the album. 

The quartet portion of The Lockdown Sessions features guitarist Lorne Lofsky and pianist Adrean Farrugia, with Occhipinti and drummer Terry Clarke rounding out the rhythm section. They play contemporary arrangements of four jazz standards, with a synchronized yet exploratory approach. Lofsky’s stellar 2021 release The Song is New is also on Modica Music, and to me, his playing on The Lockdown Sessions is more probing and “live” than the shorter studio arrangements heard prior. 

The rest of the album is piano trio, featuring Ewen Farncombe on the next four pieces with drummer Davide Corazza, and Farrugia returning for the final five with Ernesto Cervini on drums. Listeners get to hear three different drummers approach this repertoire, but it’s a testament to the album’s leader that all three groups coexist organically.

Living Things
Nicola Miller
Cacophonous Revival Recordings CRR-025 (cacophonousrevivalrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/living-things)

Nicola Miller is an Ontario-born, Nova Scotia-resident alto saxophonist and composer who has taken a circuitous route to her first recording as leader, earning a BA in jazz performance from a Toronto college nearly 20 years ago, teaching fiddle to children in Mohawk territory near Montreal and getting an MA from the Jazz Institüt Berlin. Based on Living Things, it was all worth it. It’s as impressive a debut as one might want to hear – mature, thoughtful, passionate work in the company of masters.

She’s assembled a fine Canadian band (trombonist Doug Tielli, as witty as he is exploratory, drummer Nick Fraser, both precise and energetic, and bassist Nicholas D’Amato, a sensitive bulwark of form), topped off by her German mentor Frank Gratkowski, playing mostly bass clarinet here with just a single turn on his more usual alto saxophone. Loading a debut with stellar sidemen can conceal a neophyte’s virtues, but that doesn’t happen here. Miller‘s conception may be rooted in Ornette Coleman’s mercurial voice, but hers is lighter, a voice that is engaged in its own discoveries. 

Her compositions welcome elastic interpretation, but they also have strengths of their own, summoning up the soundscape of Miller’s Maritime home. The opening Barge Is a night-time description of dock, water and whistles, while Seaweed and Seagulls are similar tone poems, but all go beyond programmatic atmosphere to summon a sense of teeming life, a continuum between sonic subject and the quintet’s creative impulses.