Newfoundland native composer, improviser, and educator Patrick Boyle presents After Forgetting, his latest jazz recording. Boyle has an extensive career, which includes appearing on over 50 commercial releases, performing in premiere jazz stages across Canada, and scoring for stage and film. CBC radio has called him “one of Canada’s top jazz musicians.”
After Forgetting opens with a refreshingly strong cover of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin [sic].” The song is expertly re-harmonized in a way that remains familiar and fits the melody, yet still comes across as fresh and interesting. The funky intro going into the head made me think of something like The Bad Plus, if maybe a bit more conventional.
The syncopated rhythm and tense harmony from the intro make a return for the first horn solo. Patrick Boyle is an accomplished trumpeter, and this is reflected in the confidence and rich vocabulary present in his solos throughout the record. The solo section in “Times” moves back and forth between the main themes of the intro and the song proper, and Boyle does a great job of navigating the changes with taste and intention.
“Touch Your Soft Lips And Part” introduces the audience to Boyle’s cohesive vision for the record. The compositions are atmospheric, featuring expansive sections that flow effortlessly into one another and infrequently come to a complete resolution. They invite you to get lost in the soundscapes, and ultimately make for great satisfaction every time a destination is reached.
The title track, “After Forgetting,” features what could be my favourite moment in the album at around the song’s 3-minute mark: a playful duel of ascending arpeggios between horn and piano that creates a very pleasant, optimistic suspension. At over 10 minutes, “After Forgetting” is the longest cut in the record, and it really brought to my attention how easy it is to lose track of time while listening to it. I would have guessed a much shorter length if I hadn’t checked. The record succeeds in taking you for long rides without wearing you down.
Michael Billard, Mike Downes and Bill Brennan, respectively on drums, double bass and piano, make up the rest of the band. The combo works great as an extension of Boyle’s voice, with Dowes and Brennan bringing their own soloing flavour into the mix and Billard’s role remaining more foundational—and very effective. Brennan’s piano work is impressively broad in both variety and dynamics, and the bass performance and production shine superb. Billard’s drumming is cymbal-centric and delivered with admirable restraint. Producer Glen Tilley and engineer Terry Winsor do a great job of capturing the subtleties each performer brings to the table, and the result is a clean production that really “pulls you into the room.”
The closing number, “You Must Believe In Spring,” brings a satisfying conclusion to the record.
Patrick Boyle is often commended for his unique voice on the trumpet. There is an unusual amount of “air” in his sound, as if he is constantly experimenting with the limits of how softly you can play a horn before the sound breaks. This is naturally most apparent during the quietest sections, and it strikes me as difficult to achieve. Once again, the production stays out of the way of this sound. It is very vocal, and it feels very close. The horns were captured through a Neuman U-87 microphone, unsurprisingly a standard choice for recording vocals.
Boyle shares that the record was captured live off the floor. This is something I have the highest respect for, and I’ll take the rare, brief, human moments of hesitation over sterile ultra-polish any day.
“As an educator, my research is in improvisation,” says Boyle. “I’m interested in how people work together in the moment to put new ideas into action. I think that is evident on this recording, and hope people check it out.”
I hope so as well, and I am really looking forward to that vinyl.
Tour Dates:
12.13.18 – St John’s, NL @ MUN School of Music
12.18.18 – St John’s, NL @ Rocket Bakery
12.19.18 – St John’s, NL @The Ship Pub
01.12.19 – Nanaimo, BC @ Lighthouse Bistro
01.13.19 – Crofton, BC @ Pat’s House of Jazz
01.17.19 – Comox, BC @ Cumberland Valley Jazz Society
01.18.19 – Saanich, BC @ Phillip T. Young Recital Hall
02.15.19 – Toronto, ON @ Gallery 345
02.18.19 – Toronto, ON @ The Emmet Ray