Volume 23 Issue 6 - March 2018

solos. It’s characterized by this kiss, composed
for a Romeo and Juliet project, which embeds
pianist Mat Mitchell’s dynamic theme elaborations
within a buoyant, sprightly narrative.
That said, the introductory lud is built
around multiple idiophone vibrations, cushioned
by horn breaths that quickly draw you
into Hollenbeck’s multiple creations. The final
track The Model, lifted from the repertory of
German electronica band Kraftwerk, is light,
bracing and wraps up the session with hints of
a spirited I Love Paris-like vamp.
Still, the paramount performances salute
two of the composer’s deceased heroes.
Kenny Wheeler is celebrated with a galloping
arrangement of his Heyoke, where flugelhornist
Matt Holman personifies Wheeler’s
expressiveness within waves of brass accompaniment
even as trombonist Jacob Garchik’s
hairy outbursts confirm the arrangement’s
originality. Theo Bleckmann’s wordless scatting
adds distinct harmonies to Heyoke, but
he’s put to even better use on All Can Work,
saluting New York teacher/big band trumpeter
Laurie Fink. Treating phrases from
Fink’s humorous emails as found poetry, the
sumptuous performance subtly builds up to
an atmospheric crescendo, where the sung
words and instrumental passages become
virtually indistinguishable. With Hollenbeck
now teaching at McGill, this CD is another
reminder of the US’ loss to Canada.
Ken Waxman
Number 9
François Bourassa Quartet
Effendi Records FND150
(effendirecords.com)
!!
With the release
of his ninth CD,
François Bourassa
reminds us why
he is considered
to be one of the
jazz world’s finest
pianist/composers.
All of the superb
material here has been written and produced
by Bourassa. His talented group includes
longtime collaborators André Leroux on tenor
sax, flute and clarinets, Guy Boisvert on bass
and Greg Ritchie on drums. From the downbeat,
this is a group that communicates on
a psychic level, soaring together through
the highest realms of musical creativity and
jazz expression, travelling via the emotional
pathway of the heart.
The compositions reflect a nostalgic reverie
for Bourassa – melodic portraits of people,
places and events, now revisited with a big dose
of mature vision as well as the muted and misty
sepia-toned colours of memory. All members
of the Quartet are really time travellers who
(in addition to firm linear time) also intuitively
understand the quantum multi-dimensional
nature of spacetime, and that the “now” is the
conceivable and creative aspect of all that is.
Standouts include Carla und Karlheinz,
which was written in honour of avant-garde
pianist/composer Carla Bley and electronic
music pioneer Karlheinz Stockhausen. The
clever juxtaposition of styles here is simultaneously
mindbending and delightful. Bourassa’s
technical skill on this challenging track is also
thrilling, and Leroux sizzles on his gymnastic
solo. Also evocative are Frozen, which conjures
isolated, inescapable fields of nothingness, and
Past Ich, featuring gorgeous, melodic playing
from Bourassa, punctuated by Leroux’s alternately
caressing and yowling soprano sax.
Clearly, this profound, beautifully recorded
project will be considered one of the finest
international jazz recordings of the year.
Lesley Mitchell-Clarke
I Can See Clearly Now
Kathleen Gorman
Independent
(kathleengorman.bandcamp.com)
!!
Kathleen
Gorman is already
an accomplished
pedagogue, adjudicator
and clinician.
Add to these a light
and high-sprung
rhythmic pianism,
and this recording
adds yet another prismatic facet to her multidimensional
musical personality.
Gorman’s three compositions reflect the
evolution of a pianist deeply immersed in the
forms and performance of classical music,
with the touch-sensitive music of Arabesque
and Mysterioso, redolent of dazzling runs
and parabolic arpeggios. Influence, played in
a dark, minor mode, is wonderfully arranged
to capture the characteristic mystique of what
has come to be called the Blue Note sound,
one that recalls not just early iconic Herbie
Hancock but also Freddy Hubbard and Wayne
Shorter. And in all songs Gorman reveals a
singular virtuosity that eschews showmanship
and accentuates a phrasing style pregnant
with emotion.
Other works reflect a composer-like skill
in re-harmonization of original melodies to
reflect a new angular perspective on the songs.
Gorman does this by turning the original
tonal colours of a piece into black and white
before recolouring it in her own unique new
way and guiding her wonderful ensemble into
performing each new piece memorably. Both
Sides Now, which also features her seductive
voice, is a poignant example, as is the instrumental
Over The Rainbow. The entire repertoire
makes this a disc to die for.
Raul da Gama
Amparo
Phoenix Jazz Group
Independent (phoenixjazzgroup.ca)
!!
The Phoenix Jazz Group may not be a
prominent blip on everyone’s radar but
among cognoscenti and musicians alike,
keyboards player
John McLelland,
saxophonist and
clarinetist Andy
Klaehn, bassist Greg
Prior, and drummer
and percussionist
John Goddard are
held in high esteem.
Their third album, Amparo, reflects the
myriad styles in which the members of the
ensemble are fluent. This stretches in a wide
swathe from New Orleans and the ebullience
of second-line marching rhythms to the
swinging momentum of early jazz, fused with
broad hints of 1970s’ and contemporary rock.
It is in the fusion of these myriad styles that
the group’s music speaks best. The vivid and
fierce imagery created by the cover on the CD
package not only relates to the song Falcon
(Revisited) but strikes at the very heart of the
group’s virtuoso artistry that is heard on songs
such as Sojourn, with its questing melody,
and Tribute, where the individuals’ technical
facility may be heard at its best – from the
short arco burst of Prior’s bass to McLelland’s
gracious arpeggios, Goddard’s percussion
colouring and Klaehn’s startling glissandos.
The title of the recording suggests that
music is a “refuge,” or safe place. This can be
felt throughout the short album, but nowhere
more strongly than in the profound beauty of
Amparo, the title track itself.
Raul da Gama
Have You Heard?
David Mott; Vinny Golia
Pet Mantis Records PMR011 (2baris.com)
! ! Low reeds and
woodwinds equate
to musical gravitas,
and when
combined with the
pronounced erudition
of musicians
such as David Mott
and Vinny Golia,
magical things happen. From the suggestive
disc title Have You Heard? and the ethereal
mystery of each track name to the questing
music itself, this disc seems to contain echoes
of another universe, as well as a yearning for
the profound melodic intellect of the music to
be reflected in our own planet.
Lest this seem like the description of
something resembling science fiction, it is
important to clear the air immediately – for
it is anything but that. Music such as that
contained in Power of Serenity, Serendipitous
Ruminations and Urban Pastorale is an
example of how loaded with meaning this
album is. It is, however, in the dark and delicious
rumble of two baritone saxophones
locked in an interminable melodic double
helix – often with magical counterpoint – that
the music’s vivid and changing colours most
resemble the rich didacticism that ensues
from deep philosophical discourse.
78 | March 2018 thewholenote.com