Manitoba is bopping to th sounds of The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Richard Gillis and featuring impressive material from him as well as John Stetch, Michelle Gregoire, Jeff Presslaff and Marco Castillo.
There’s a three part “The Parallel Steppes” that includes a warm piano journey from Will Bonness, while Sean Irvine’s alto sax gives pretty tones on the clever “Ochka” and the horns get foreboding on “Yaseni”. There’s a rich trek on the dramatic “Homenaje” while the sax section grooves over “Oriri/Henry Onwuchekwa”. There’s some nice bass work by Gilles Fournier on “Isphiig” while the horn sections get muscular on “The Bison Hunt”. Fresh colors on the musical canvas. Grass fed jazz gents.