Ed Bickert, one of the most revered figures in Canadian jazz, turns 80 on Nov. 29. Bickert hasn’t played professionally since 2001. That is what makes this news particularly thrilling: there’s a new Ed Bickert album, and you can hear it here first.
Let’s qualify “new.” The album, Test of Time, was recorded with saxophonist Mike Murley and bassist Steve Wallace in 1999. It was never released. Three years later, Murley, Bickert and Wallace's Live at the Senator won the Juno Award for best traditional jazz album, instrumental.
So why didn’t Test of Time see the light of day until now? In a nutshell, the original plan was to release a live recording, but the date didn’t work out. So the trio went into drummer Barry Elmes’s tiny basement studio to record what became Test of Time (and the only studio recording of the group). Before it could be released, though, the trio had another shot at a live recording, and that one, as noted, went onto Juno Award-winning success. The studio recording just got lost in the shuffle.
In 2010, Elmes dug out the tapes and digitized them. He contacted the trio, and when everyone heard the tracks again they agreed the music stood the (pun alert!) test of time, and should be released.
Test of Time will be released on Dec. 7, but starting today, for one week, you can hear the album right here. Just press play.
PLAYMurley-Bickert-Wallace/Test of Time
Streaming until Nov. 5
Tracklist
If you’re a Bickert fan (and really, if you like jazz guitar how could you not be?) you’ll want to take note of the following:
• Ed Bickert at 80 — A Jazz Celebration: tickets are on sale now for a tribute concert for Bickert, Nov. 6 at Toronto's Glenn Gould Studio.
• Steve Wallace, the bassist from Murley, Bickert and Wallace, blogs about working with Bickert for CBC Music, to be posted at CBC Jazz on Nov 1.
• Canada Live's broadcast of Ed Bickert at 80 — A Jazz Celebration is slated for Nov. 29 on CBC Radio 2, with accompanying video interviews right here at CBC Jazz.
Related:
Canadian jazz essentials: Juno-winner Mike Murley’s picks