This Is Book’s Music

Admittedly, I know little to nothing about jazz created by our Canadian brothers and sisters, or at least I can say that most of the jazz I buy and listen to come from American, European, and Japanese artists. Of course, the best jazz is all about dividing up the pie in many ways, so in the words of Rakim God Allah, it ain’t where you’re from it’s where you’re at. Pianist Tony Foster is someone who proves this with a trio album (the other musicians on here being Joe Poole on drums and Russell Botten on bass) that is truly a brilliant statement and piece of work.

The 9-song strong In Between Moods (self-released) is an album of performances Foster, Poole, and Botten did for radio broadcasts, and the songs they play are just top notch. In fact, the album opens up with “Take The A Train”, which sample-heads may while to after hearing the original, but it sounds nothing like the celebrated A-train we know of unless we’re taking a serious listen. The melody is there, but the path towards the train is so different, you wish they would find more paths to get to that destination. Those paths are explored throughout the album, in the medley of “Someone To Watch Over Me/You’ve Changed”, Oscar Peterson‘s “Cake Walk”, or “How I Miss The Rain”, one of four original pieces from Foster. The energy here reminds me of Dave Brubeck, and I mean that not only in the peppy way Foster can play, but also the way his group eggs him on as a means of encouragement.

The musicianship is powerful, the recording sounds incredible, and I’m glad groups feel confident enough to listen to their radio performances and say “you know, this is good enough to release as our album.” I want to hear more from Foster, Poole, and Botten, not only as a trio but they can also add in a number of musicians to make things more festivel. I’d also like to hear them involved in any other sessions, and yet the chemistry here comes probably not only from being friends, but having an admiration of jazz that made them pick up instruments in the first place.