Recording: Mirapolis

Artist: Mirapolis

Songs: Raga + Louange à l'éternité de Jésus [composer: Olivier Messiaen]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge ("416 Toronto Creative Improvisers Festival" – Night 3), November 4, 2016.

Mirapolis - Raga

Mirapolis - Louange à l'éternité de Jésus

The last time I saw this exploratory trio (Noah Sherman, drums; Luan Phung, guit; Chris Rennie, tenor sax) wasn't in a super-great listening context, so maybe it's not surprising that I heard increased musical depths in the more refined Southern Cross environs. And it's hard to say if it was my increased familiarity or the musicians' several months down the road, but they came across as more organic, and not so much just "playing the dots". They moved from polite and in sync to sudden outbursts — the originals were more rangy, but I'm glad they're still also including their meditative slice o' Messiaen in their set.

Recording: The Noah Sherman Quartet

Artist: The Noah Sherman Quartet

Song: Shadow Puppet Patrol [edit]

Recorded at The Emmet Ray (Somewhere There Presents), July 17, 2016.

The Noah Sherman Quartet - Shadow Puppet Patrol [edit]

This was the first chance I had to make it out for Somewhere There's casual monthly at The Emmet Ray. SWT collective member Noah Sherman brought out this grouping, with his percussion work enhanced by Emily Steinwall (sax), Luan Phung (guitar) and Peter Bull (5-string bass). Over two sets they tackled pieces from Sherman's songbook, a couple (including this one) from Bull plus pieces by John Zorn and The Thing.

Recording: Castor & Compagnie et amis

Artist: Phill Albert + Heather Saumer + Diane Labrosse / Joane Hétu + Pierre Tanguay + Paul Newman + Matt Miller / Pierre-Yves Martel + Jean Derome + Noah Sherman

Songs: [excerpts from group improvisations]

Recorded at Array Space (Somewhere There presents), June 19, 2016.

Phill Albert/Heather Saumer/Diane Labrosse - [excerpt]

Joane Hétu/Pierre Tanguay/Paul Newman/Matt Miller - [excerpt]

Pierre-Yves Martel/Jean Derome/Noah Sherman - [edited excerpt]

To start off this evening of musique actuelle with the reactivated Castor & Co., the group's members were first split up and recombined with some local players for some off-the-cuff improvisations. That lead to some interesting sonic nudges and musical conversations: Diane Labrosse conducting static-bursts with a wave of her hand in the first set to guide the drift of the acoustic elements; Matt Miller returning the electroacoustic favour in the second as Joane Hétu and Paul Newman's gliding saxophones merged in space; and Pierre-Yves Martel's bass-synth rumbulations building a floor for a free-jazz excursion.

Recording: N/A/D/S 4tet

Artist: N/A/D/S 4tet

Song: Untitled #1 [composer: Karen Ng]^*

Recorded at Array Space ("Somewhere There's Second Sundays"), November 8, 2015.

N/A/D/S 4tet - Untitled #1

Drawing its acronym from the last names of its four members, this new unit combining the talents of Karen Ng (alto sax), Chris Adriaanse (double bass), Emily Denison (trumpet), and Noah Sherman (drums) was making its debut. They played a selection of new pieces from the members, including tuneful new selections from Adriaanse and Denison as well as this one grittier one from Karen Ng.

^* The group played three pieces in a long suite, with Karen Ng's piece sandwiched between ones from Emily Denison and Chris Adriaanse. So I'm guessing here on where the piece starts and ends — hopefully I'm close!

Recording: Mirapolis

Artist: Mirapolis

Song: The Striga^*

Recorded at The Cavern Bar, August 23, 2015.

Mirapolis - The Striga

I'd heard from friends who had been that The Cavern Bar had an unusual vibe for a gig, and this first visit confirmed that. Off the usual music venue grid on Church Street, the basement room is as much a watering hole for patrons of the hostel above as a destination for music seekers, leading to some random interactions and moments of bands playing to as many blissfully indifferent patrons as folks there for the show. As with openers Bears & Children, I was familiar with one-third of this young unit, having seen drummer Noah Sherman in action previously. Joined by Luan Phung (guit) and Chris Rennie (tenor sax) the group was pushing in a few different directions, sounding, at a couple points, like Tortoise attempting to tackle "A Love Supreme". That questing quality (which also lead to an intriguing cover of Olivier Messiaen's "Louange à l'éternité de Jésus") was the band's best asset, compensating for a few moments of lingering jazz-school precision fustiness.

^* Thanks to Noah for passing along the title to this one!

Recording: Pendrith Trio

Artist: Pendrith Trio

Songs: Mem + Leaht

Recorded at The Emmet Ray, March 23, 2015.

Pendrith Trio - Mem

Pendrith Trio - Leaht

The early Monday slot at The Emmet Ray offers frequent rewards those willing to head out at the start of the week. This night saw drummer Noah Sherman in action with a trio that included Christian Brown (sax) and Dave Haskett (double bass). They mostly tackled a variety of standards over two sets, but this pair of Sherman's originals were perhaps the most interesting sounds on offer. Originally composed for his avant-klezmer Fortet, there's a pleasingly slinky groove at play here. [you can hear "Mem" and a couple others on a tasty recording on Sherman's bandcamp.]