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. ..I must say I was impressed by the uniqueness and originality of this band, and proud to say that here in Vancouver, we do have this world-class jazz band directed by Jill Townsend....
Ed Farolan (Vancouver Review) see the full review

Rob McConnell, Jill Townsend and Ian McDougall  Photo credit: Ross Taggart

 

"The band is superb. The soloists are uniformly great and the entire production is excellent."

Rob McConnell (trombonist, arranger/composer, leader of Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass and the Rob McConnell Tentet)

 

"The team of Jill Townsend and Bill Coon supply charts that are rich and fresh rhythmically, melodically, and harmonically… " 

Ian McDougall (trombonist/composer/arranger)                               

 

"It’s fantastic! I was impressed by all the abilities –playing, writing, sound, etc"                                        

Jiggs Whigham (trombonist) 

 

"…I really like your CD “tales from the sea”…I like all the compositions and compliments to all the soloists…"

Kenny Wheeler (trpt/composer/arranger)

“The recording captures the ensemble’s silky mastery of Townsend’s playful compositions and arrangements and showcases the brilliance of players such as Ross Taggart, Brad Turner, Campbell Ryga, Jack Stafford, Dennis Esson and Bill Coon…”

Joseph Blake - Times Colonist

 

“every soloist shone, but the real star was Townsend herself, whose detailed, intricate charts swung with impressively Ellingtonian suavity…”

Alexander Varty - Georgia Straight

 

"Seeing the band …was an impressive sight. Hearing the group play was even better…(they ) created an uplifting vibe."

Chris Wong - Vancouver Courier  

 

The band led by composer, arranger Townsend, features some to this city's finest players… Campbell Ryga starts early on, playing great soprano sax on the opener, The Gift, then providing stellar alto sax work on Old Folks. 

 

Guitarist Bill Coon… is his usual sparkling self, sounding especially good on the ballad My Wild Irish Rose. His layered arrangement for The Gift provides a few surprises, while Townsend's three-movement suite Tales from the Sea takes the band through changing tempos and moods .  

 

Besides Ryga, Ross Taggart, Jack Stafford (outstanding on blues in Maude's Flat) and Coon, other noted soloists are trumpeter Brad Turner, flugelhorn player Derry Byrne, trombonists Rod Murray, Dennis Esson, and Jeremy Berkman, bassist Andre Lachance and drummer Dave Robbins."

Marke Andrews - The Vancouver Sun

 

"This is what makes reviewing such an adventure. Just when one thinks he may have heard it all, a new big band comes out of nowhere—well, out of Vancouver, British Columbia, actually—to prove that he hasn’t, that there’s always something new under the sun, and that there’s almost nothing more rewarding than the thrill of discovering a marvelous new Jazz ensemble whose artistry and resourcefulness can best be described as breathtaking.

 

The band in question is led by composer/arranger Jill Townsend whose debut album, Tales from the Sea, is irresistibly fresh and charming from beginning to end.


The band itself is impressive, but no more so than the glistening charts by Townsend and her husband, guitarist Bill Coon, who also crafted two delightfully engaging melodies, “The Gift” and “From a Whisper to a Roar.”

 

The centerpiece is Townsend’s picturesque suite, Tales from the Sea, whose three exhilarating movements—Cape John,” “Waltz of the Jellyfish,” “Amet Island”—are dedicated to her birthplace, Nova Scotia.

Townsend also arranged alto saxophonist Campbell Ryga’s lissome ballad showcase, “Old Folks,” and one of the more improbable themes for a big-band Jazz treatment, Chauncey Olcott’s “My Wild Irish Rose” (which is exquisite, as are the solos by Coon and flugel Derry Byrne).

 

Coon arranged guitarist Jim Hall’s perky Caribbean-influenced “Street Dance,” and he and Townsend orchestrated Grant Green’s atmospheric “Blues in Maude’s Flat.”

One can sense from the opening measures of “The Gift” that Townsend’s ensemble, and the album as a whole, are something special, as Coon cleverly uses trombone choir, muted trumpets and lovely woodwind voicings to pave the way for persuasive solos by tenor Ross Taggart, trumpeter Brad Turner, drummer Dave Robbins and an alluring coda by Ryga, this time on soprano.

 

“Whisper” is an old-fashioned barn-burner with trenchant remarks by Turner (muted), Taggart, Coon and Robbins.

Soloists on Tales from the Sea are trombonist Rod Murray (“Cape John,” which is connected to the second movement by the sound of a real wave), Ryga, Coon and bassist Andre Lachance (“Jellyfish”), Turner, Robbins, tenor Mike Allen and trombonist Jeremy Berkman (“Amet Island”).

 

Coon shares the spotlight with trombonist Dennis Esson on “Street Dance,” with alto Jack Stafford on “Maude’s Flat.” Like the ensemble, the soloists are razor-sharp and letter-perfect.

The more perceptive reader may have guessed by now that my response to Tales from the Sea was rather favorable, and that is true. I believe the hip phrase today is “blown away” (or was that yesterday?).

 

Well, no matter how one chooses to say it, Jill Townsend has rigged a mind-blowing big band, and her debut album is, like, really groovy (oops! there I go, dating myself again). Take a tip from the old man—run, do not walk. You’ll be totally caved. (Okay, I made that one up, but hey, it‘s not bad.)"

Jack Bowers - http://www.allaboutjazz.com

 

Photo credit Barb McDougall