Hey, the team of Kodi Hutchinson/b, Chris Andrew/p and Karl Schwonik/dr won theGrand Prize at the 2013 Montreal International Jazz Festival, so you gotta give these Western Canadians a chance just for that. They’ve also brought heavyweight Donny McCaslin and percussionist Rogerio Boccato onto the scene for some songs, so you’ve got an impressive set here. A Spanish “The Fog” displays remarkable freshness and interplay, while the pastoral “Mountain Rose” evokes images of open plains. McCaslin shows his tenor shoes on the post bop “The Realm Part II” as his percussion slithers on the samba’d “Ponderado.” Hutchinson and Andrew do some dainty work together on “Prairie Wind” and go sing songy on the fun “Beautiful Thorn.” Get them in a nightclub in Banff!
Alberta Foundation for the Arts