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News and Reviews | |
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Michelle Grégoire - Reaching Boat House Records BHR CD018 CD Launched November 18, 2004, Launched for Retail on February 15, 2005 The CD is available worldwide online (click on link below) and in Canada through the Canadian Music Centre's four regional offices (Toronto, Montreal, Calgary & Vancouver). They are now available in Canadian retail stores through Fusion III distribution. Phone orders accepted by calling Michelle Gregoire Productions at 204-453-8579. Visa/Mastrcard accepted. In Winnipeg, you'll find copies at McNally Robinson (Grant Park), Librairie à la page, Into the Music, and the Fort Garry Hotel's Gift shop. ---- Reviews and accolades: Reaching made CBC's After Hours' list of Top Recordings in 2004. "In jazz, processing the lessons of tradition is far more interesting than paying respect. Winnipeg pianist/composer Michelle Grégoire draws on the elegant brawn of high-period Blue Note artists such as Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock in her debut, channeling small-group muscularity and groove through interesting melodies that are far more than spring-boards for solos. Certainly, bass players will admire her penchant for writing mobile underpinnings; played in tandem with Jim Vivian, they provide both an anchor in turbulent modes and also an engine for contrary motion against the nicely weighted horn line of Kirk MacDonald (tenor and soprano saxes) and Kevin Turcotte (trumpet and flugelhorn). Even in the ballads there is a feline, pad-and-pounce watchfulness, marking a canny writer." Randall McIlroy, Style Manitoba (Spring 2005) All About Jazz review: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=16810 "Un album de haute gamme au niveau du jazz à découvirir, un MUST, un incontournable dans le jazz au Canada...Du début à la fin, cet album s'écoute comme un charme...une découverte à ne pas manquer." ZigZag, Radio-Canada (Janvier 2005) "Pianist and composer Michelle Grégoire, a mainstay of Winnipeg's jazz scene, impresses with her debut CD that employs four Toronto sidemen to illuminate the strength of her writing. She's fond of melody on the eight longish originals here, but her concepts are broad enough to let colleagues roam in between the fascinating structures with which she gears ensemble statements and exits, a style immediately apparent on the rugged opener "Minor Alterations." Her comping and soloing are always poised, suffused with a stealthy subtlety that lets the tunes breathe and develop. Her ingenious creations are all of interest, from the hard-nosed ("Knock It," "Joe's Tune") to the reflective ("Lost And Found," "December 1st") and the hip ("Blues For Us"). Ah, yes, the sidemen. They are trumpeter Kevin Turcotte, saxophonist Kirk MacDonald, bass Jim Vivian and drummer Ted Warren, who all revel in their roles and this music." Geoff Chapman, Toronto Star (December 2004) "Your CD is F-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c. Everything about it is awesome - your writing, your playing, your musicians... it's recorded beautifully, the liner notes are great...I could go on and on..." David Braid "This debut recordinghighlights her ability to put together a band of great musicians who help her convey her musical ideas. ...the album is as much a celebration of Grégoire the writer of music as it is of Grégoire the performer of music. A piece like "Joe's Tune," dedicated to saxophonist Joe Lovanoe, brings all the elements together. Grégoire's playing is strong and sure on a good composition, and Kirk MacDonald's saxophone does more than justice to the tune's namesake. Grégoire's playing especially stands out, as soloist and accompanist, on "Lost and Found" where she shares the solo spotlight with trumpeter Kevin Turcotte, who has long been one of the country's best, but whose playing really stands out on this disc. Drummer Ted Warren, and bassist Jim Vivian are as solid a rhythm duo as you'll find, and inventive and daring enough to do justice to Grégoire's tunes. Grégoire moves easily from solid comping to daring solos to delicate fills throughout the disc. The title track "Reaching" has everyone in the band doing just that, reaching for another level, reaching for the stars. Chris Smith, Winnipeg Free Press, Dig! Magazine. (December/January Issue) ".the talent of the players certainly makes this a dream CD for Winnipeg jazz aficionados...Grégoire boasts an impressive understanding of the genre and is able to slow things down a little (as on Lost and Found) or step on the gas to get things moving (Knock It). Each of the players gets a chance to shine here and of course each does just that." Uptown Magazine (November 2004) "I am very, very, very impressed...a stellar debut...Reaching has all the elements I look for in music to play on the show - strong melody, superb musicianship, a creative but accessible approach, great sound, and continuity of tone." Andy Sheppard, CBC host of A... |
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