So many new releases

I've accumulated such a log jam of new albums on my desk that I've decided to present a “speed dating ” quick review of eight albums this week. Clear and concise, first impressions with no filler.

Adrian Dennis - Moon Rising (Independent, 2023)

Toronto-based guitarist Adrian Dennis gives us a striking debut album containing seven original compositions filled with thoughtful melodies and compelling harmonic shifts. His delicate touch on the guitar is matched by his inventive compositions, and the performances with his quartet breathe gentle life into the music. Highlights include Convergence, The Archer, Whale Calls and the shimmering title track.

Bellbird - Root in Tandem (Independent, 2023)

Alto and tenor saxophones move in tight harmonies, dancing and weaving around the pulses and textures provided by bass and drums. Bellbird is a collective modern jazz quartet where all four members contribute compositions. The absence of a chordal instrument creates a sense of space for the dual voices of the saxophones to float, linger and blossom. Highlights include Blurred Season, Pigeons & Disco, Bluff, and Maybe I Won't Go.

This record deserves repeated listening.

Rubim de Toledo - The Drip (Independent, 2023)

This gifted Brazilian-Canadian bassist/composer is exploring his roots by exploring the music of Brazil, Cuba, and the Caribbean, with elements of funk, jazz and Afrobeat all mixed together in a delightful sonic soup. Edmonton-based vocalist Karimah lends her voice and collaborates on three tracks. Freedom Ain't the Same, Rhythm Chante and Equal Ground are showcases for her vocal prowess. Percussion

ripples and percolates throughout the record. Other highlights include Out From Under, The Long Way (Down) and The Long Way (Up).

Chloë Lum & Yannick Desranleau - The Garden of a Former House Turned Museum (No Hay Discos, 2023)

This record is tough to classify and made me slightly uncomfortable because I didn't really understand it. It's me. I'm the problem. The duo has been described as “operating within an ultra-peculiar aesthetic space merging performance, installation, narrative, text, sculptural and choreographic elements.” Tackling issues of chronic illness, death, and relationships the recordings are curiously engaging, but leave me with a sense that I need to see this performance to better understand it.

Paramorph Collective - All We're Made of is Borrowed (Redshift Records, 2023)

Opening with classical guitar and a haunting voice, Elegy demands thoughtful attention. This Ottawa-Montreal duo creates sparse and evocative music with guitar, piano, voice and synthesizer. For Guitar is a fragile solo composition on guitar. Fruiting Bodies is a 21-minute

epic that melds overtones of electric guitar and custom organ. Words cannot aptly describe this sonic event. Other highlights include Still Holding, and Thought and Desire (with lyrics from Shakespeare's Sonnet 45.)

Saxophilia Saxophone Quartet Metamorphosis (Redshift Records, 2023)

Vancouver's Saxophilia Saxophone Quartet features soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophone. This record finds the group interpreting three suites by important Canadian composers, and two other pieces. Fred Stride's Metamorphosis, Violet Archer's Divertimento, and Beatrice Ferreira's Nightmare Fragments are each multi-movement compositions with diverse textures, counterpoint and imagery. Rodney Sharmon's Homage to Robert Schumann employs “overtone fingerings” for ghostly sounds and tenor saxophonist David Branter's composition, Four Stories closes the album.

Dan Pitt Trio - Stages (Independent, 2023)

This trio record finds guitarist Dan Pitt delivering a thought-provoking collection of original compositions. Joined by Alex Fournier (bass) and Nick Fraser (drums), the openness

of the trio creates sonic space throughout. Foreboding has some sweetly angular melodic lines and Ghosts is a track dusted with sparkling tremolo. Other highlights include Fourteen Days, Stages and Tape Age. This is a great record.

Triio - Magnetic Dreaming (Elastic Records, 2023)

Bassist/composer Alex Fournier and his group Triio first caught my attention with their album Six-ish Plateaus (2022). To revisit my own words from a year ago, “guitarist Tom Fleming is a compelling player who is not afraid to explore a myriad of tones from percolating textures to fuzzy, soaring lead lines… Michael Davidson (vibraphone) is an inspiring player.” The reed instruments are equally compelling and the rhythm section creates textural landscapes for the melodies to travel through. Alex described this record to me, saying “On this EP we showcase a long-form suite, blending many genres and styles while delving deeper into the work we started with our first two recordings, experimenting with the potentialities of groove and form within a contemporary jazz idiom.” It's a trip worth taking. Buckle up and listen.