Deep River
Tony Quarrington
Cordova Bay Records
2000
9 tracks
Alone at home, most times I would never select this music to just sit and listen. It's simply too quiet and relaxing. I might, however, put it on as background while working at the computer or perhaps entertaining that very special guest over wine. Having dinner or drinks in a club with that same guest, I would welcome the complement of this music filling out the background. This is not to say that the jazz of Deep River should only be relegated to the background. While it may serve well as a backdrop as we play certain scenes in the foreground, this music has a fullness and body that can be savoured like that fine wine I may have served my special guest.
Jazz may be considered an American art form, but over the years many of the finest jazz musicians have come from Canada. It can be argued that guitarist Tony Quarrington is one of those exceptional Canadian musicians. Deep River is no Wes Montgomery solo gig but a collaboration between Quarrington and four other talented jazz musicians. It is in his choice of musical collaborators that Quarrington' wisdom especially shines through.
While Quarrington is clearly talented as a player and as a composer, the musicians playing with him provide the well-crafted setting very diamond must have to truly shine. Pat LaBarbera (sax), Neil Swainson (bass), Greg Pilo (drums), and Doug Riley (keys) bring talent to the mix equal to Quarrington's own. The result is a polished, perhaps flawless performance [you can always find a flaw if you look hard enough] sure to please the most exacting jazz fan.
Often, as I listen to a recording, I will begin to hear an artist's influences seeping through like pine pitch through latex paint. If those influences show strongly enough, I'll mention them in my review. While this release is certainly pretty standard as jazz recordings go, I find no such influences to mention. The music here seems to flow purely from the musicians involved, with any past influences fully assimilated and integrated into their unique sound.
On many releases, it may be that one song stands out from the others as better or perhaps just different in some way. On some releases, there may be several such songs. Where I find such a song, I will discuss the reasons I feel that it does stand out from the others. Deep River is uniformly well played and well produced so that no one song can be said to differ from the others in these regards. Pick a song at random and all you'll hear is exceptional jazz music exceptionally well played.
Like the performance, the production here is top notch. If I didn't know better, I would suspect that Deep River is one of those so-clean jazz releases recorded in the studios of the CBC. In fact, it was produced by Quarrington himself at Toronto's Hallamusic studio, demonstrating that this guitarist has talent as well as a producer.
Whether for foreground or background, Tony Quarrington's Deep River is easy listening sure to be a welcome addition to any collection of Canadian jazz or of jazz, wherever it may be from.
For more information on Canadian jazz guitarist Tony Quarrington and his music, be sure to visit TonyQuarrington.com.
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