WINNIPEG JAZZ ORCHESTRA & SEAN IRVINE

FORGOTTEN STORIES SUITE

Chronograph Records

The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra is Canada’s first community-based, non-profit, professional jazz orchestra.  It was founded in 1997.  This project, called “Forgotten Stories Suite” is composed by multi-instrumentalist Sean Irvine.  It features vocalist Karly Epp and a spoken word narrator, Quinn Greene.

The concept of this production is to blend instrumental jazz, lyrical vocals and poetry to share stories too often left untold.  The music is written and arranged to provoke the listener’s emotions. Sean Irvine and artistic director, conductor, Dr. Richard Gillis, use poetry to create narratives that are too often left untold. The music is structured into five dynamic movements.  Each movement is introduced by a poetic monologue.

“I want this album to speak for itself, to amplify the voices of a community of people who take each day in stride and have lived lives of solitude, grappling for love and freedom.  Much like the experience of walking through an art gallery, I hope you will look deeply into the portraits of these folk’s stories and see how each line, shade, and brushstroke speaks to a greater good.  For if music can make us feel something, it provides an avenue for connection and empathy,” says Sean Irvine in his press package.

This is modern, orchestral jazz whose vision is to explore the lived experiences of 2SLGBTQ+ individuals.  The various suites of music are meant to navigate their identities, trauma and paths towards healing.

The orchestra opens with the title tune “Forgotten Stories” that is less than a minute long and features a monologue by Quinn Green. “Prologue: Study in Shades of Palo Santo” follows. It features Andrew Littleford, a master of trumpet and flugelhorn player, with Larry Roy on guitar. It’s a quiet piece, with Will Bonness tinkling the 88 keys delicately in the background and the horn section soaring over a ballad tempo. “Movement 1: Nightmare” features Karl Kohut on bass, brightly spurring this moderate tempo’d arrangement forward. Niall Cade is featured on tenor saxophone, sounding quite inventive. The drums of Fabio Ragnelli propel this piece forward and Ragnelli soaks up the spotlight in a duo moment between himself and the tenor sax. It’s quite dramatic. Towards the end of this seven-minute exploration, the guitar of Larry Roy is king. This Movement is impressive!

A monologue of prose called “Longing for Texas” follows that introduces us to a suite of music called “Movement II: Texas” featuring the sweet vocals of Karly Epp, making a very pretty melody come alive.  At one point in this arrangement, Epp shows off her scat singing skills. Track #6 quickly becomes one of my favorite ‘cuts’ on this album. Composer and multi-instrumentalist, Sean Irvine is also featured on this lovely arrangement.  Track #10, “Harold” is another favorite featuring Kohut’s bass, the Bonness piano and Neil Watson’s soprano sax.

The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra presents the compositions of Sean Irvine as orchestration with a theme, and activism with melodic integrity.

ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL: Sean Irvine, piccolo/flute/clarinet/bass clarinet/soprano saxophone/ lead alto sax; Quinn Greene, narrator; Karly Epp, voice; SAXOPHONES: Neil Watson, soprano & Alto sax; Niall Cade & Monica Jones, tenors; Kyle Wedlake, Baritone sax. TROMBONES: Joel Green, Jeremy Duggleby, Karin Carlson & Isabelle Lavole on bass trombone. TRUMPETS/FLUGELHORNS: Shane Hicks, Matthew Walden, Andrew Littleford & Jon Challoner. RHYTHM SECTION: Larry Roy, guitar; Will Bonness, piano/Fender Rhodes; Karl Kohut, upright & electric bass; Fabio Ragnelli, drums.                                                          

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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