Large Ensemble Music: Oh, Canadian

 

Composer, arranger, and trombonist is the brainchild behind the Composers Collective Big Band, a 19-member ensemble based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  In existence since 2005, the CCBB was created to shine a spotlight on Canadian composers through commissions and concerts. Those performances also serve to highlight the variety of great musicians that work and teach in the Province.  Surprisingly, the ensemble's only recording is a four-track release from 2017.

2023 brings "The Toronto Project" (self-released); Overton commissioned eight composers (including himself and three over members of the CCBB) to create music about the city where they work and play.  Each song is introduced by a different sound effect representing a different form of transportation (train, subway, walking, bus, automobile––the airport is notable for its absence) that takes the listener to different parts of Toronto (the current population of the Greater Metro area is well over six million).  The first full track is "West Toronto Ode"––composed by Cuban-born tres player and vocalist Pablosky Rosales, the piece dances in on the joyous sounds of flutes swirling around the composer's tres powered by the solid electric bass of Luther Gray and frolicking drum work of Jeff Halischuk.  

Photo: Daniel Cybulskie

Other locations include St. Clair West which is where composer and trombonist Tom Richards goes in "Non-Sequitur" and leader Overton's journey to Chinatown in "Spadina" (splendid soprano sax work from Ms. Davidson and guest artist Amely Zhou who plays erhu, the Chinese "spike fiddle").   Composer and bandleader Chelsea McBride takes us "Inside the Toy Factory" which must be quite the swinging judging by the play-filled romp the band goes in (dig the funk below the trombone solo).  Bassist Gray's "Interweave" pays tribute to the city's large Indian population––joined by tabla drummer Ravi Naimpally, the CCBB explores the magical music that flutters and swirls through the composition. 

The last musical piece before the train takes you and the album home is "Transit".  Composed by saxophonist Shirantha Beddage, the high-powered track could easily have influenced by the composer have been at the top of the CN Tower looking down at the hustle-and-bustle of the city below. The horn and reed interjections behind the rampaging drum solo certainly give one the feeling that the city never goes to sleep.

Take a trip with the Composers Collective Big Band on "The Toronto Project".  Leader Christian Overton and the band move easily through the fifth largest city in North America touching down in and paying musical tribute to areas big and small.  They certainly make it inviting.

For more information, go to www.christianovertonmusic.com/ccbb.  To hear more and to purchase the album, go to https://thecomposerscollectivebigband.bandcamp.com/album/the-toronto-project. 

Personnel:

Christian Overton - Musical Director & Trombone

Woodwinds: Tara Davidson (as, ss, fl), Chris Roberts (as, cl, fl), Paul Metcalfe (ts, cl, fl), Jared Welsh (ts, cl, fl), Marcus Ali (bs, bc, fl)

Trumpet & Flugelhorn: Jason Logue (lead), John Pittman, Brian O’Kane, John MacLeod

Trombone: William Carn, Tom Richards, Pat Blanchard, Karl Silveira, Sylvain Bedard (bass tbn)

Electric Guitar: Erik Patterson 

Piano & Keyboard: Carissa Neufeld 

Acoustic & Electric Bass: Justin Gray 

Drums: Jeff Halischuk

Featuring Special Guests: Pablosky Rosales (Tres), Les Alt (Flute), Amely Zhou (Erhu), Maya Killtron (voice), Jonathan Kay (Tenor Sax), Andrew Kay (Alto Sax), Ravi Naimpally (Tabla) 

Give a listen to "Non-Sequitur":

The Nimmons Tribute, a nonet based in Toronto, Ontario, is a project that pays tribute to the work of Canadian Jazz Master Phil Nimmons. Mr. Nimmons, who turned 100 years old on June 3rd of this year, is considered to be the "Dean of Canadian Jazz" not only for his long career as a recording artists but also for the nearly five decades he taught in the Jazz Studies at the University of Toronto. Though he's not well-known in the US, Mr. Nimmons has won numerous awards for his contributions to music and education including the Order of Canada and Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.

In 2020, the Nimmons Tribute issued "Volume 1 - To The Nth"––the group, organized by Sean Nimmons (his grandson and award-winning composer in his own right), is back with "Volume 2 - Generational", eight tracks included six new arrangements the grandson created from the great body of work his grandfather created.  The nonet, composed of Kevin Turcotte (trumpet, flugelhorn), Tara Davidson (alto sax, soprano sax, clarinet), Mike Murley (tenor sax), Alex Dean (baritone sax, bass clarinet), William Carn (trombone), Jon Maharaj (bass), Ethan Ardelli (drums), Heather Bambrick (vocals), and the younger Nimmons (piano, Fender Rhodes), are all integral members of the Canadian jazz scene.  The spotlight is rightly on the music.  The album opener, "Arf", bursts out of the gates with an arrangement thats makes the eight musicians like a true big band. Excellent solos from Dean (baritone), Turcotte (trumpet), and drummer Ardelli raise the temperature exponentially.  

Ms. Davidson's evocative soprano saxophone takes the lead on "Islands", a lovely ballad drawn from, arguably, the elder Nimmons most famous work, "The Atlantic Suite".  The arrangement gives the music an Ellingtonian feel. The oft-recorded "Under a Tree" opens with the theme first stated by Dean's bass clarinet before it opens to the entire octet.  Turcotte's bluesy flugelhorn takes the first lead, opening over a loping rhythm section before the rest of the group colors behind him. Murley steps out next producing a lively and richly emotional solo.  The delightful "Carey Dance" (from "Suite P.E.I") displays a Scottish influence before the band swings out for solos from Nimmons (piano), Murley, and Ardelli before a lively restatement of the original theme for all.

The younger Nimmons (pictured left) contributes two new pieces to the program. The winsome ballad "Bella Shores" features fine work from Turcotte (flugelhorn) and Ms. Davidson (soprano sax) and they continue to converse separately and together throughout the tune. The other contribution, the title track, is also a ballad that spotlights Carn's trombone, Ms. Davidson's alto, Turcotte's trumpet, and Murley's tenor before making room for a short but richly melodic bass solo.  

"Generational" closes with "Night Night Smiley", a ballad the elder Nimmons composed for his 2001 album "Sands of Time".  Yes, it's a lullaby, sung gently by Heather Bambrick then she steps aside for for short solos from Maharaj, Carn, Ms. Davidson (alto sax), Turcotte (trumpet), Dean (bass clarinet), and Murley (tenor sax) before Ms. Bambrick returns to put the song and "Volume 2" to bed.  What the album and the Nimmons Tribute ensemble reminds us how timeless the music of Phil Nimmons–his songs have been speaking to the hearts and souls of Canada for nearly seven decades.  

To find out more, go to www.nimmonstribute.ca/. To find out more about the life and music of Phil Nimmons, go to www.philnimmons.ca/. To purchase the recording, go to  https://nimmonstribute.bandcamp.com/album/generational.

Personnel:

Kevin Turcotte - trumpet, flugelhorn
Tara Davidson - alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet
Mike Murley - tenor saxophone
William Carn - trombone
Alex Dean - baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
Sean Nimmons - piano, Fender Rhodes
Jon Maharaj - bass
Ethan Ardelli - drums
Heather Bambrick - vocals on one track

The program opens with"Arf":

Hard & Heart to Know Where

Photo: Matt Griffiths

It's been over a decade since I saw and heard vocalist, composer, broadcaster, and journalist Nicky Schrire in a duo concert with pianist Gerald Clayton. She has just released "Space and Time", a album of duos with Clayton, Gil Goldstein, and Fabian Almazan.  The intimacy of the duo performances worked well in concert.  But soon, Ms. Schrire moved from New York City to London, England, then to Capetown, South Africa, finally settling several years ago in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  Along the way, she composed a project for cello, guitar, and voice as well as a yet-unrecorded String Quartet. Upon moving to Canada, she began a weekly program for Toronto's JAZZ-FM.91 ("The Bright North"). When Jason Crane took a sabbatical from his excellent podcast 'The Jazz Session", Ms. Schrire took over for the 14th season. Now, she curates the "Mothers-in-Jazz" series for "The London Jazz News", an online Jazz zine that she has contributed for over a decade. 

But no jazz-based music on record for Ms. Schrire until now.  Anzic Records has just issued "Nowhere Girl", a collection of 11 songs, mostly all original. To help her translate these songs, she and producer Oded Lev-Ari gathered an excellent rhythm section composed of pianist Chris Donnelly, bassist Dan Fortin, and drummer Ernesto Cervini (who record and tour together as Myriad3) plus guest appearances from Tara Davidson (alto and soprano saxophone on four tracks), Laila Biali (vocal on one track), and Julio Siguaque (electric guitar on one track).  What stands out for this listener is how comfortable Ms. Schrire sounds, even as her songs talk of wandering the world (the title track), missing a songwriting partner ("Traveler"), or a lovely ode to her parent ("Father"). Donnelly's accompaniment is splendid throughout while Fortin and Cervini not only create finely-wrought backgrounds but they also can dance, sway, and even whisper when the song calls for it.

Many of these song defy genre. The lovely "A Morning" is a finely etched poem set to a handsome melody (listen for the swirling piano "raindrops" behind the wordless vocal in the middle....sounds Elizabethan). "In Paris" is both a lovely walk through the City of Lights in the morning and also a tribute to Joni Mitchell's "Free Man in Paris"––Ms. Davidson's lovely soprano channels Wayne Shorter, her lovely tone surrounding Ms. Schrire's vocal in the next-to-the-last verse. On "Closer to the Source", the singer adds her own lyrics to the lilting melody by the South African composer Bheki Mseleku (1955-2008)–Ms. Schrire slows the tempo a bit but one still feels that bright bounce associated with South African music. Donnelly shines here as does Ms. Davidson on soprano.  The song serves as a tribute to the composer and to the comfort the singer when she returns (such an interesting juxtaposition Mseleku wrote the tune as he lived in exile in London).  

"Nowhere Girl" ends with the delightful, whirling, rhythmical treat "My Love"...no, not the Paul McCartney song but a "party tune" dedicated to Capetown.  The trio plus Ms. Davidson play with great joy but it's the clicking, overdubbed, guitar (played by Julio Sigauque, a musician from Mozambique who Ms. Schrire met when both studied at the University of Capetown) that sets the pace.  It's an upbeat close to a really fine recording. When you sit down to listen, you'll hear how Lev-Ari deftly overdubs the vocalist on numerous occasions during the album.  Also, Laila Biali joins her voice to Ms. Schrire's on the lovely and heartbreaking take of Kate & Anna McGarrigle's  "Heart Like a Wheel". 

Many hurrahs to Nicky Schrire for taking her time to create this album and for putting together such an excellent cast of supporting friends/musicians.  Such good music deserves to be heard––then this  "Nowhere Girl" will have a place...in your heart and soul!

For more information, go to www.nickyschrire.com.  To hear more and to purchase the album, go to https://nickyschrire.bandcamp.com/album/nowhere-girl. 
 

Hear "Traveler":