Diane Roblin isn’t afraid of creating beauty. No matter how intense the compositions and improvisations of the Toronto pianist are, they contain logical evolutions, upfront rhythms, and unpretentious theme elaborations. Despite its brief running time (just over thirty-three minutes), the six tracks on this disc express varied moods and considerations while only slightly upsetting the logical flow. Performances are facilitated by Kevin Turcotte (trumpet, flugelhorn), John Johnson (soprano, alto saxophones), Jeff LaRochelle (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet), George Koller (double and electric basses, production), and Tim Shia (drums); Bruce Cassidy made the horn arrangements.
On the title track, the reed and brass set-up matches layered, fragile simplicity with the pianist’s representative harmonies. On “Renewed on Thanksgiving Day,” Turcotte’s gentle portamento breaths are bookended by a languid bass clarinet intro that evolves into squeaks and tongue stops and a later intersection with Johnson and LaRochelle, which follows a linear form. Other tracks allow the rhythm section to anchor tunes with Latin-like or funk beats, or introduce hard bop snarls from the saxes. And the concluding “Cadenza (solo piano)” shows how Roblin subtly wraps scattershot note pressure and blues inferences into a steadying pianism that is consistent in its horizontal evolution.
The breath of fresh air preserved here gives the pianist and her associates ample space for consistent expression of Roblin’s original music.
Ken Waxman is a Toronto-based journalist who has written about improvised and other musics for many years. Many of his articles on music can be accessed at <www.jazzword.com>.