James McGowan Ensemble – ‘Reaching Out’ [Album Review]

Thirteen-piece jazz-classical fusion outfit James McGowan Ensemble recently released the follow-up to their 2023 album, Reaching In. Entitled Reaching Out, the new long player consists of three quartets: Ottawa-based Modasaurus, Quebec’s Quatuor Despax, and a four-piece brass section made up of Petr Cancura (tenor sax), Mike Tremblay (tenor and soprano saxophones), Mark Ferguson (trombone), and the JUNO-award winning Ed Lister (trumpet).

McGowan says, “Reaching Out tells my story through words and music of moving past grief to find strength in community. I truly think that everyone will be able to relate to it and find personal resonance in this journey.”

Entry points on Reaching Out include the title track, travelling on a bright jazz melody highlighted by big, braying horn layers, an emotional piano, and an expressive guitar. All three elements merge to narrate an intricate, intimate voyage through life.

The slow and melancholic flow of “Alone in a Crowd” evokes feelings of longing, regret and tender care while wisely avoiding any sense of self-pity. A personal favourite because of its vivid, swinging flow, “Corean Poultry” ebbs, rises and rolls out on a luscious carpet of brass colours, riding a syncopated rhythm.

Dripping with sad sorrow, “Blue Lament” steeps listeners in forlorn, weeping strings accented by the floating heartache of gently despondent horns. The outro delivers an anguish-filled bluesy crescendo that drifts away into isolated silence.

James McGowan Ensemble, photo by Curtis Perry

The classical strains of “Pause” offer a meditative interlude of deep mourning, followed by “Elegy,” a low-slung tune mirroring sensations of profound loss and grief.

With its warm classical colours and fluid, tiptoeing textures, “Reflection” offers perhaps the album’s most beautiful and elegant surfaces, juxtaposing the darker hues of a cello against the more luminous violins.

Looking outwardly on Reaching Out, the James McGowan Ensemble intertwines rich, classical textures with layers of electrifying jazz.

Reaching Out Track Listing:

1. Personal Credo
2. Imagine, Pt. 4
3. Reaching Out
4. Minding My Time
5. Alone in a Crowd
6. Imagine, Prt. 5
7. Corean Poultry
9. Blue Lament
8. Pause
10. Elegy
11. Imagine, Pt. 6
12. Time to Rise
13. Chaotic Good
14. Journey Together
15. My Story
16. Reflection
17. Song Without Words

Run Time: 83:00
Release Date: May 24, 2024
Record Label: Independent