Sydney, Nova Scotia born/Toronto based drummer Ethan Ardelli has been one of Canada's most in demand jazz musicians for more than a decade. After playing in many of Canada's busiest bands (led by the likes of David Virelles, Brian Dickinson, Nancy Walker, Darren Sigesmund, Harley Card, Jane Bunnett, and Mike Downes) and sharing the stage with a who's who of contemporary jazz (Dewey Redman, Mark Turner, Mark Feldman, Jeremy Pelt, George Mraz, Mulgrew Miller, and Greg Osby) he was due to make his first statement as a bandleader. The Island of Form - his hotly anticipated debut album - features Chris Donnelly, Luis Deniz, and Devon Henderson, and is a showcase for Ardelli's highly developed compositional skills and drumming prowess. "The Island of Form" is a collage by artist Michael Poulton. It was given to me by my cousin Sharon and her partner Christine as a house warming gift. There are a number of overt as well as subtle symbols in the collage that connected with me. This collage - an assemblage of different forms that combine to create a new whole - aligns perfectly with my vision for my album. I'm inspired by many disparate things, and I wanted to take elements from each of these different creative worlds and bring them together in a new form." Always a cultural omnivore, Ardelli has always sought out inspiration in a wide variety of places: from foreign and art films to classical composition and music from around the world - in particular the music of Cuba. "Agua," the album's first track, was inspired by his studies with legendary Cuban percussionist Jose Luis Quintana, better know as "Changuito": "I studied with Changuito for 6 months when he was living in Toronto in 2010. He didn't really speak much English, and I don't speak Spanish at all, which made for some interesting lessons. He would just come over to my place, start playing the drums, and I would have to figure out what he was doing and play it back to him. If I did it wrong he would yell "NO." But, if I got it right and it was starting to sound groovy, he would say "Agua." Hopefully if Changuito ever hears this tune he'll say "Agua," and not something else."
Other songs on the album reflect the influences of Richard Wagner and Charles Wuorinen ("Accretion" and "The Serpentine Path"); Bela Bartok ("Dunraven"); the great Toronto pianist and teacher Frank Falco ("Shangri-La Pearl", a beautiful dedication to Ardelli's wife Jessica.) The influence of film is particularly deep in regards to this record: "The idea for the piece "5:55AM" came to me while I was living in New York City in 2013," he recalled. "I worked at a coffee shop there, and I would have to get up 5:55AM to get to work on time. On my early morning walks to work, I would often think about ideas I had for compositions. I had an idea for a drum feature, and while working on the piece I found that it was conjuring up all kinds of imagery. At the same time, I was exploring the work of several film makers (Mark Cousins, Michael Haneke, Werner Herzog Stanley Kubrick) and I decided that I needed to make a short film to accompany the piece." The film will be released in conjunction with the album. The album was recorded on October 16th, 2017 at Sear Sound in New York City by James Farber, the legendary engineer behind many touchstone jazz recordings that rank among Ardelli's favorites, including works by Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, Brad Mehldau, Paul Motian. It was mastered by acclaimed engineer Greg Calbi, a jazz scene stalwart who also worked with John Lennon. "The Island of Form" will be released on November 2nd, 2018. Ardelli’s Quartet will be on tour across Canada promoting its release from November 5th to 24th.
In 2017, as Canada celebrated 150 years of confederation, 23 year old Hamilton drummer Harry Vetro took to the road. He traveled coast to coast, visiting communities in Canada's six indigenous cultural areas (Arctic, Subarctic, Northwest Coast, Plateau, Plains, and Eastern Woodlands) in an effort to connect with musicians and artists from different cultural backgrounds, and to better understand the land's long cultural history. Northern Ranger - Vetro's debut album - tells the story of his travels. A jazz musician by training, Harry melded his own style of improvised music with folk and classical influences to create a deeply personal statement, one that speaks to the country as a whole.
A recent graduate of the University of Toronto Jazz program, Vetro leads an active performing career, Past performances include the TD Toronto Jazz Festival, Ottawa Jazz Festival and Orillia Jazz Festival. Proceeds from this album will assist in starting an outreach initiative for youth with limited access to music education. The program will be titled "Northern Ranger Outreach" and Vetro will be partnering with his father, who is an educator and musician with connections in the school system. Northern Ranger will be released on Friday, October 19th on T.Sound Records. The release will be celebrated with a performance on Saturday, October 20th with a performance at Gallery 345 in Toronto. This will be followed by a Canadian release tour in November.
