| A lovely, personal album this is, comprising originals by band members Davis and reedman Sacha Boychuck, adaptations of classical (Vaughn Williams) and pop (Jerome Kern) pieces, and the Chassidic chanting of Davis’ old Dad, Alexander. As for the style, listen to the first number, arranged by Tania Gill, and you get a chamber music drone that goes up-tempo with jazzy piano, klezmer clarinet, till you wind up in a Kronos Quartet type land of classical klezmer jazz.
The second tune, “Oratio” starts off with a bass solo by Drew Birston, a cello bit by Monica Fedrigo and Ted Warren's drums, all nicely layered into a kind of Aaron Copland “Appalachian Spring” mood that has lots of texture, and repays careful listening.
The Shimmering #1 is an interlude by Sacha Boychuk doing excruciatingly Jewish things on clarinet that are almost a caricature of the mannerisms and the painfulness of that genre. Davis’ piano has a 30’s sound recalling James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. His father sings a Passover melody with a voice not so great, but he can carry a tune, and there is a lot of love there.
The highlight is the adaptation of Vaughn Williams’ “Rhosymedre”, a lovely piano piece fragile as ice tracing on window frost that offers a bonus long bass solo that is excellent. This is an original album, with good solos, rich ensemble work, the kind of contemplative mood I favour, and a personal touch that puts Davis right out there, where he belongs.
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