Jondo

JOSHUA RAGER Nonet

BRR-201702

Track Listing

  1. Prodigal Son Suite Part I  (3:27)
  2. Prodigal Son Suite Part II + III  (7:04)
  3. Jondo  (6:35)
  4. Child’s Play  (4:56)
  5. The Master Waits  (4:45)
  6. No Goodbye  (8:58)
  7. 3 Legged Dog  (4:42)
  8. The Inside Track  (6:28)
  9. Summer Night  (5:19)

On Jondo, Josh revisits a classic instrumentation, the nonet, first made famous by Miles Davis on his seminal album Birth of the Cool. Says Rager about the CD, “Composing for this instrumentation of 6 horns and rhythm section has given me the opportunity to explore new colours, new textures, new harmonies, that are just not possible with other groups of instruments. My goal was not to make direct reference to any group of the past but to try and build upon the work of the great jazz composers like Gil Evans. I wanted to find my own voice as a composer and also feature the amazing musicianship of some of Montreal’s finest musicians.”

Josh has written 9 compositions and arrangements around an all-star line up of Montréal jazz musicians. The music is melodic, energetic, and harmonically lush. Says Rager, “The title comes from the Spanish vocal tradition ‘Cante Jondo’ which means ‘Deep Singing’. The notion applies to this music because jazz musicians often think in terms of achieving a vocal quality in their improvisations. We are always singing to ourselves and using our instruments as an extension of our voices. Through this music we are singing, blurring the lines between what is written and what is improvised, like the Flamenco vocal tradition.”

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Album Credits

Joshua Rager – Piano  |  Bill Mahar – Trumpet  |  Donny Kennedy – Alto Saxophone  |  Frank Lozano – Tenor Saxophone, Flute
Jean-Nicolas Trottier – Trombone  |  Cameron Wallis – Baritone Saxophone  |  Dave Watts – Bass  |  Rich Irwin – Drums
Miguel Medina – Cajón on “Jondo”  |  Andy King – Trumpet on “Prodigal Son Suite”

All compositions by Joshua Rager (SOCAN) except “No Goodbye” by André White (SOCAN) arranged by Joshua Rager, and “Summer Night” by Warren/Dubin arranged by Joshua Rager

“Prodigal Son Suite” in memory of Jan Jarczyk

Recorded at Piccolo Studios, Montréal, May 2016  | Engineered by Paul Johnston and Patrice Pruneau
Produced by Joshua Rager and Paul Johnston  |  Additional Tracking by George Doxas at Boutique de Son, Montréal
Mixed by Paul Johnston  |  Mastered by Guy Hébert  |  CD Design and Illustration by Kristjan Buckingham