The music heard on this CD comes from the pen of drummer Ernesto Cervini, inspired to compose the 15 tunes by his devotion to the Chief Inspector Gamache books of Louise Penny. They’re set in a location called Three Pines and on 2 December this year a TV series based on the books, called Three Pines, is premiered on Amazon Prime.
All the musicians are Canadian and are members of the leaders’ three working bands – only those who have ever read these novels will know whether Cervini has captured the characters, locations and relationships intrinsic to the stories in musical form.
Certainly each piece has its own characteristics in terms of structure, mood and instrumentation, leading to a varied diet for the listener, with no tune outstaying its welcome. In terms of rhythm, there is also plenty of balance throughout and for those who like a little swing about their contemporary jazz, they are not forgotten either.
There are plenty of decent solos to hang onto; the saxophonists in particular acquit themselves well on every occasion they are called upon, the leader, happy to take a back seat, giving them an uncomplicated, comforting cushion. Not perhaps a release to set pulses racing but a decent listen nonetheless.
A documentary, Finding Joy, has been made about the inspirations and the making of the album, trailed on YouTube (the full video is released 24 January 2023 at https://youtu.be/4MCQTEJOieM):
Discography
Three Pines; Surprised By Joy; Myrna; Sandalwood And Rosewater; Clara; Roar And Havoc; Ruth’s Rosa; The Moth; Olivier & Gabri; Bella Bella; Peter Morrow; The Beautiful Mystery; Lacoste; Beauvoir; I’m FINE (57.21)
Collectively: Cervini (d); Felicity Williams, Emilie-Claire Barlow, Amy Cervini, Alex Samaras (v); Jim Lewis (t); Virginia MacDonald (cl); Tara Davidson, Luis Deniz (as); Kelly Jefferson (ts, ss); William Carn (tb); Adrean Farrugia (p); Don Scott (g); Dan Fortin, Artie Roth (b); Rich Brown (elb). Canada, 26-27 September 2021.
TPR Records TPR-010
