Art Pepper – Unreleased Art Pepper, Vol. 10: Toronto – Widow’s Taste APM 18001 – 3 CD: 60:36, 50:48, 63:05 – 1977 ****: Street Date: 11/2/18 (Art Pepper – alto sax; Bernie Senensky – piano; Gene Perla or Dave Piltch – bass; Terry Clarke – drums) I have enjoyed the nine volumes of previously recorded Art Pepper material that his widow, Laurie Pepper, has released over the years under her label, Widow’s Taste. These recordings, many from cassette, and pirated by fans, were made from the mid-70s to the early 80s (Art passed away in June, 1982). They document the renaissance that Art experienced at the end of his life. He was living with health issues that he knew were likely to cut his life short, yet he was still creative and active, in sharing his gifts with an audience (especially in Europe and Japan), eager to hear him live. Laurie is releasing a 3 CD set (Vol. 10) on November 2nd, that may be among the most interesting and historically significant, as any in the series. On June 16, 1977, Art appeared with a quartet at the Bourbon Street club in Toronto. It was one week before he was to […]
Kirk MacDonald Jazz Orchestra – Common Ground [TrackList follows] – Addo AJR032 (2 CDs), 91:04 ****: This is a band that has an expressive command of some very challenging material. It doesn’t seem to be all that long ago, although perhaps it was, there were a number of significant jazz orchestras in Canada including Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Dave McMurdo’s Jazz Orchestra both in Toronto, Vic Vogel’s Le Jazz Big Band in Montreal and Tommy Banks Big Band in Edmonton. With changing times, fashion, and economics it is a challenge to maintain a jazz orchestra on a consistent basis. Kudos go to Kirk MacDonald for keeping this formation together for their third recording Common Ground. All of the compositions on this release were written by Kirk MacDonald with arrangements by trumpeter Joe Sullivan. Although Sullivan was born in Ontario, he has worked and lived for the better part of his career in Montréal. He is currently an Associate Professor at McGill University where he directs the University’s Jazz Orchestra as well as playing in his own sextet ad big band. Sullivan’s arrangements of MacDonald’s compositions are lengthy affairs in the manner of tone poems, with multilayered harmonics and […]
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