Volume 31 Issue 2 - November & December 2025

Fiat LuxRené Lussier;

Fiat LuxRené Lussier; Robbie KusterMicrocidi 044 (renelussier.bandcamp.com/album/fiat-lux-2025)! Listen to anytwo tunes onthis14-track disc byMontreal experimentalguitaristRené Lussier andyou’ll understandwhy he’s now celebratinga half-century career. Backed bySwiss-born Montreal percussionist RobbieKuster, Lussier, who also plays electric bassand daxophone (an electric wooden experimentalmusical instrument) and Kuster, whovaries his percussion thrashing with handsaw whines and nail organ vibrations, boundfrom style to style with the same sophisticationand energy.The guitarist’s shaking flanges and fuzztones brush up against drum poundingon Rock 66. Rien d’aquis mates Kuster’spatterning clips with simple reflective stringpicking; while La Valise Du Vendredi is aQuébécois blues, featuring garbled mumblesand perfect bottleneck frails. Lussiereven uses the wooden daxophone’s gauntvoice-like drones to scrape alongside sawreverb replicating the sounds suggested byGuimbarde Et Brosse à Dents.Fiat Lux isn’t all fun and games. Some ofthe other Lussier originals mark his POMOconversions that add C&W licks to an otherwiseunderstated improv melody or useprimitive whistling to humanize what standsout as a heavy metal attack.Unbeatable technique mixed with humouralso turns French folk composer AlbertLarrieu’s Biscuit – La Feuille D’Érable into aRock anthem with guitar feedback; and heuses simple harmonies to break down OrnetteColeman’s Haven’t Been Where I Left into aprogressive child’s song with chiming guitarruns and zipping single notes.There may be some music Lussier can’tdistinctively transform, but it’s not here.Ken WaxmanCory Weeds meets Jerry WeldonCory Weeds; Jerry WeldonCellar Music CMF102704 (coryweeds.bandcamp.com/album/cory-weeds-meetsjerry-weldon)! In a fast-pacedworld where weare constantlybombarded andpressured to keepup with the latesttrends and objects,renowned saxophonistand bandleaderCory Weeds’ latest release is a reminderto slow our pace down and “stop and smellthe roses,” if you will. The album harks backto the classic swing era with a fresh twist,embodying the idea of honouring the classicsin an era where “newness” constantlywants to take over. Weeds has gathered agroup of famed musicians for these recordings,namely fellow tenor saxophonist JerryWeldon, pianist Miles Black, bassist John Leeand drummer Jesse Cahill.What captures the attention of the listenerright from the first note are the dual saxophonelines, a unique aspect of the albumthat pays tribute to “seminal tenor-battlerecordings of the past.” The record starts offwith the tune Hey Lock, where the listener istreated to a driving drum rhythm, swingingpiano chords and the intertwining tenormelodies of Weeds and Weldon. Taking thetempo down for Just As Though You WereHere, a well-known tune by jazz pianist JohnBenson Brooks, the lyrical and mellow qualitiesof Weeds’ skilled playing are showcased.The album features a collection of jazz greats,ending with the bandleader’s own composition323 Shuter.A perfect accompaniment for soon to bechillier fall days, this is a worthy addition toany jazz aficionado’s collection.Kati KiilaspeaJacob Chung – Live at Al Frankie’s Jazz ClubJacob Chung; Tyler Henderson TrioCellar Music CMF110924 (jacobchung.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-frankie-sjazz-club)! New-York basedsaxophonist andcomposer JacobChung’s newestrecording is ampleproof that jazz ismost certainly notgoing away anytimesoon and that theyounger generation is carrying the torch forcontinuing this great musical genre. Chunghas gotten a group of truly skilled musiciansand friends together to breathe life intothis record: pianist Tyler Henderson, bassistCaleb Tobochman and drummer Hank AllenBarfield. The tracklist features a collection ofwell-known tunes as well as a couple pennedby Henderson thrown into the mix.Chung describes the album as “a truesnapshot of four friends just playing andsharing our love for each other and themusic with an enthusiastic Vancouver audience.”This friendship and love for the musicclearly shines through in every note of therecording and is especially evident throughhow balanced and “tight” each piece sounds.The musicians are in tune with each otherand share a cohesive feeling throughoutthe melodies and rhythms. Opening trackJeannine stands out for its catchy bass line,moving rhythms and soaring tune. LoveEndures, one of the aforementioned songscomposed by Henderson, is mellow yet energeticand embodies both the traditional andthe modern. The fact that the recordings weremade unbeknownst to the musicians duringa live show is what really captures the essenceof the raw passion for this music and respectfor each other that this group has and holds.Kati KiilaspeaThe IsleTommy Crane; David BinneyElastic Recordings/MythologyRecords ER022 | MR29 (davidbinney.bandcamp.com/album/the-isle)! Tommy Craneis a Montrealbased drummer/composer and saxophonist/composerDavid Binney livesin Los Angeles.They have playedtogether severaltimes over theyears and collaborated on The Isle which wasrecorded in Montreal in 2023 and “drawsinspiration from the city of Montreal itself—its atmosphere, rhythms, and cultural landscape.The city’s influence is evident not justin the album title, but in the pieces themselves,several of which are named afterneighbourhoods.”One of the album’s most noticeablestrengths are the many atmospheric grooveswhich are both relaxing and engaging.Crane’s drumming gives each work a steadyand entrancing pulse like the St. Lawrencewhich flows immutably past the busy islandof Montreal with its vibrant culture, trafficand road construction. In fact, I can hearhorns and brakes in the slightly apprehensiveThe Isle of Jam. Binney’s saxophoneis lyrical and limber, sometimes providinglong tones and then breaking into delightfulflights of fluttering bop lines. The tonal paletteis enhanced by several other musicianson flutes, bass, keyboards and guitar. TheIsle creates a sense of expectant calm: you canrelax to it, listen while driving or anywhereelse you enjoy sampling a variety of evocativemoods.Ted ParkinsonHeart MusicGeorge Crotty TrioIndependent (georgecrotty.com)! Having hadthe good fortuneof recently seeingcellist GeorgeCrotty’s latestalbum release ofhis trio’s HeartMusic in concert,I was excited tofind listening tothe recording just as engaging as the liveperformance. The Toronto native has beentravelling and touring for many years, picking50 | November & December 2025 thewholenote.com

up his heavy skills in jazz and many musiclanguages of the world, and this albumreflects on the wide diversity of the entire triowhich includes John Murchison on bass andJeremy Smith on percussion.Crotty has many collaborations in hiscredits including the Brooklyn Raga Missive,the National Arab Orchestra, and years oftravelling and studies of Hindustani raga,European jazz, and left hand pizzicato tobuild the powerhouse of chops he has at hisdisposal. The trio is unique in its combinationof jazz, classical, Arabic, Irish, flamenco andmusic theatre, and each of the tracks on thisalbum is equally unique. Crotty plays the celloin this configuration standing, allowing himto move and lead freely.From the opening Bandish, based onan evening raga, and Heart Music and TheTask at Hand, both of which use exceptionallyintricate left-hand pizzicato, we experiencethe power of Crotty’s technique on thecello. The spooky intro to Twelfth House givesway to a jazz-infused exploration of dreams.The following track A Game features playfulepisodes within the group, and the cinematicCigarettes at Sunrise includes Crottyin duet with himself in a live cello loop. Thealbum closes with my favourite track SaturnReturns, a complex expansion of chords inparallel fifths on the cello, polyrhythms, anda group improvisation showcasing the entiretrio, a solid brew of skill and inspiration fromaround the world.Cheryl OckrantI Am Doing My BestCurtis NowosadIndependent CN002 (curtisnowosad.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-doing-my-best)! With I Am DoingMy Best the harddrivingpercussionistis wearinghis emotions onhis sleeve – evencarrying the weightof living on hisshoulders. Nowosadbelongs to the “bracing change” in this literalsense. Edgy and unpredictable, an ensemblethat is invigorating as a shower of ice-coldwater on a day that is by turns hot and cold.This album is set out in eight short andvivid movements, each with an evocativetitle. For example: What We Do, Choices (AButterfly Breaks Free), Mythologies (TheStories We Tell). Nowosad brings togetherseveral guests: the brilliant vocalist JoannaMajoko, the JUNO-Award winning singerand songwriter Joey Landreth and guitaristAndrew Renfroe whose harmonics scorchthe fretboard. All the while the performersbrilliantly subscribe to the leader’s visionand artistry with which this gritty music isconceived and articulated.Nowosad’s music shifts from a fecund kindof beauty to a dirty bluesy volatility. On WhatWe Do we feel the unexpected jolts of a man’sforsaken cry, loosed upon the rumble andthunder of his drums, and in the quiet sizzleof the well-tempered and singing tissue ofhis brass, superbly aligned to the bronzed,glistening voice of Majoko. (I’m Learning ToBe) Kind is a gush that pushes wind into thesong’s sails. The Archer (I’m Doing My Best)featuring Landreth and Majoko closes out afine album.Raul da GamaDreamNancy Newman; Jennifer Scott; ReneWorst; Buff Allen; Bill BuckinghamIndependent (nancynmusic.com/newalbum-dream)! Women whointerpret standardswith allureand uncommonwisdom and gracecan be all-too rare,but for this NancyNewman certainlygets my vote. She isan erudite vocalist, a natural stylist who canwork with any kind of material and interpretsstandards with a completely independentmindset. Her phrasing is brilliant and so isthe emotion she puts into a phrase. Whiledigging into every word, she emerges likea breath of fresh air, giving each work aspecial grace.Newman is not fazed by the limitationsof her range. On Dream, a repertoire thatincludes film songs and other standards, shehas set down authoritative accounts of whatis billed as the Great American Songbook.Newman’s interpretations of Bond themesongs are quite special. On every one of themit feels as if she has a new story to tell. Andwith each one, the story of Mr. Bond takes ona new, more graceful, often more menacing,and energetic face.Raul da GamaMultiverseNicolas Ferron TrioIndependent (nicolasferron.bandcamp.com/album/multiverse-2)! The organ triosetting is truly adream for guitarists.One is able toplay chords as theymight in a trio withbass and drums,but there is ampleharmonic accompanimentavailable when needed, rivallingthat of a quartet with piano. To an audiencethere is a funky accessibility present on gigsand recordings that utilise organ, regardlessof how esoteric the repertoire may get.Modern jazz doesn’t necessitate esotericism,but I was thrilled to hear such fresh and interestingnew sounds when I first experiencedMultiverse.The 2020s experienced a renaissance ofvery traditional jazz guitar playing, rangingfrom players who honour their valuable influences,to those who sound stuck in a bygoneera. Guitarist Nic Ferron eschews any entrapmentin nostalgia, whilst staying groundedin the rich tradition of the instrument. He’sjoined by Jonathan Cayer on organ, and Louis-Vincent Hamel on drums, who functionbeautifully as a rhythm section.The album’s namesake and title trackMultiverse features an upbeat groove andenergetic trading between Cayer and Ferronin its solo section. This sets the tone for thetracks that follow, which are each simultaneouslycontrasting yet unified. Valenciabegins with a guitar pattern that would soundapropos of either Radiohead, or Leo Brouwer,and moves on towards groovier territories.Each time I’ve listened to Multiverse it’sfelt like a brief vignette, but at just over 47minutes in duration, it’s no doubt a fullalbum. That is a shining endorsement ofits intrigue.Sam DickinsonStars, EnginesValley VoiceElastic Recordings (harrisonargatoff.bandcamp.com/album/stars-engines)! I first cameacross the beautifullycreative noodlingsof nativeTorontonianHarrison Argatoffsomewhere around2020 while walkingthrough a localravine underpass, where I came upon thesaxophonist using the cement structure as aresonance box, creating long tonal phrasesand rhythmic rounds which became theToronto Streets Tour album. I’ve been hookedon Argatoff’s warm, thoughtful playingever since.His newest project is the group ValleyVoice and their debut album is called Stars,Engines. It features a quartet of some of thecity’s finest cohorts: Michael Davidson onvibraphone, Dan Fortin on bass, and IanWright on drums; the album refers backto Argatoff’s earliest relationships to thenatural world. Despite the contrary themes,this collection of compositions has the feelof emerging from his Streets Tour albumin melodic structure and tone, now payinghomage to his rural British ColumbianDoukhobor roots and his relationship to hisgrandmother. Continuing his formal trainingas a composer, add Argatoff’s experienceas a contact dancer, and you get the lyrical,flowing lines and phrases of an authenticartist not afraid to de-couple his instrumentfrom the standard jazz repertoire. Even withthewholenote.com November & December 2025 | 51