CBC Music’s jazz community continues its mission to compile a list of 10 essential Canadian jazz albums with a little help from our friends. This week Ranee Lee, one of Canada's premier jazz vocalists, shares the albums she'd put on the list.
1. Julie Lamontagne, Now What (2009).
Julie Lamontagne is a painter of sound. Her brush is her piano, her soul is her palette, and on her palette colours abound. With every composition I believe the listener is privileged by the harmony of her illustrations in depth, fluid motion, and the versatility of her style that is so filled with reflections and impressions.
I do not have her recent release, Opus Jazz, which is a remarkable accomplishment, however I do listen frequently to her CD Now What that features Julie and her trio and includes the tremendous talent of Donny McCaslin on tenor sax. Julie connects her classical side with her jazz influences, stretching the emotional boundaries that encounter the magic and ability of this young Montrealer and gifted musician.
2. Chet Doxas, Sidewalk Etiquette (2006).
Chet Doxas comes to mind quickly. He is a multi-awarded saxophonist of extraordinary artistic and musical capabilities. He ventures into uncharted territory with the spirit and daring of the giants that have gone before him. His path was set by the musical knowledge that was honed early in his and his brother Jim's youth by a father who knows the meaning of a devoted and committed musician, and the result is equivalent to any class and country on this planet.
Chet has made his own discoveries of style and appeal, which lends itself meritoriously in his recordings of his first CD as a leader, Sidewalk Etiquette, and more recent Big Sky. Really, if you haven't heard him play, you should!!
3. Peter Appleyard, Sophisticated Ladies (2012); Ron Paley, Bring ‘Em Back (2011).
There are many compilations on which I vocally appear as a guest artist, and always with great collaborative experiences. As recent as the amazing Peter Appleyard's latest recording, Sophisticated Ladies, where I share in a wealth of styles and the contributions of 10 invited female singers, all of whom excel exceptionally in their own technique.
I am dually elated to have been invited to perform on what I consider to be of the utmost importance to the list of Canadian jazz essentials. That recording is Bring 'Em Back!: The Ron Paley Big Band – And More.
Ron Paley has been a source of great invention and a highly progressive musical influence for many years. From his home base in Winnipeg, he has gathered an array of outstanding vocal and instrumental associates. He is truly an icon of the world of musical enhancement, and this recording comes with high praise, and proof that it is an excellent and exciting musical journey for everyone, and indeed a display of our own homegrown harmonious genius.
Have your say. What recording would you nominate for the Canadian jazz essentials list? Let us know in the comments below.
Related:
Canadian Jazz Essentials: Al Henderson's picks
Canadian Jazz Essentials: Mark Eisenmann's picks
Canadian Jazz Essentials: Paul Novotny's picks
Canadian Jazz Essentials: Michelle Grégoire’s picks
Canadian Jazz Essentials: Phil Dwyer’s picks