Saskatchewan Suite
Chronograph, 2021
9/10
Spearheaded by the composer Fred Stride, this live recording features some of Saskatchewan’s brightest musicians, including Al Muirhead, Tom Richards and Miles Foxx Hill, plus many more, as they tell the Saskatchewan story with vivid and lush song craft.
“Movement I- The Place” starts the listen with a soothing and spacey introduction where the brass is reserved yet effective, as a cosmic form of jazz unfolds with warm guitar work and much atmosphere. “Movement II-The First” follows, and brings a busy spirit of bright brass, frisky drumming and playful keys to the big band setting that’s so well done, it alone is worth the price of admission.
Halfway through, “Movement IV- The In-Between” showcases violin acrobatics amid dynamic horns and a strong rhythm section, while “Movement V- September 1905” flows with an uncontainable energy of busy jazz sensibilities that few, if anyone, could replicate.
At the end, “Movement VII- Thank You, Mr. Douglas” trims the volume back with much beauty in a bare, dreamy climate that benefits from precise bass plucking, and “Movement VIII- Saskatchejazz” exits the listen with a festive quality that shuffles, bounces and mesmerizes.
A listen that covers the last 150 years of the Saskatchewan’s history, the music here is as rich, diverse and exciting as Western Canada itself, as the Regina Jazz Society brings us one of the best big band efforts of the year.
Travels well with: Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra- Twisting Ways; Al Muirhead Quintet- Live From Frankie’s & The Yardbird