DREAM
Landen Viera
Independent
5 out of 5 Stars
At just 23 years of age, tenor saxophonist and composer Landen
Vieira is quickly emerging as a force to be reckoned with in the Toronto jazz
scene. A student of the storied
University of Toronto, Landen in his stunning debut album shows what jazz
should be all about in this day and age.
Landen is one who really respects the tradition of the music at such
a young age. In an age where young jazz
cats are forgetting about swing, blues, groove, feel in favour of abstract
explorations, odd time signatures, and making the music contemporary, Landen is
showing everyone that it is cool to innovate yourself while still honouring the
storied traditions of the jazz idiom.
For instance, “Light Piece” is a spritely bebop line that opens with
sheer intensity and breakneck swing from Landen and his storied quartet of
pianist Adrean Farrugia, bassist Malcolm Connor, and drummer Ethan
Ardelli. “Do It” is a groovy hard bop
number that gets the core of the blues and groove down solid and doesn’t even
let go.
However, two of my favourite pieces of the album, tend to show
Landen at his most expressive and his most soulful. “Dove” is probably one of the most effective
ballads ever written by the current young cats, which brings an Ellingtonian
vibe into the mix that is purely sublime.
The title track “Dream”, shifts from 12/8 Latin feel into a driving 4/4
minor groove that is completely arresting and sorely theatrical.
If you want a CD from a young cat who knows the history of the music
and does it with such conviction, run, don’t walk to pick up this record. This may very well be the best debut record
coming from a young jazz musician in the year of 2015, signaling the glorious
hope of the future of jazz in Canadian culture.
No comments:
Post a Comment