Tim Posgate Hornband cracks the code to a new form of jazz on Banjo Hockey

Tim Posgate Hornband
Banjo Hockey (Black Hen)
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Let's see: trumpet, tenor sax, banjo, and tuba? Tunes that smash modern jazz, klezmer, Celtic, bluegrass, and New Orleans styles together with cracked abandon? On paper, Banjo Hockey sounds like a little bit of a mess, but in practice Tim Posgate has cracked the code to a new form of jazz, one that’s wildly creative but that also has plenty of populist appeal.

Posgate, a Toronto guitarist who turns to his trusty banjo for most of this disc's 11 tunes, has a keen ear for melody and an even better one for supportive collaborators. On Banjo Hockey, he scores big points for enlisting jazz legend Howard Johnson, a veteran tuba and baritone sax player who's worked with the Gil Evans Orchestra, Taj Mahal, and the Band, among many others. But the other Hornband horns—Lina Allemano on trumpet and Quinsin Nachoff on tenor sax and clarinet—are equally attuned to their leader's playful, genre-bending ways.

Whether channelling the spirit of Louis Armstrong and friends on "Big Top Blues", adding Eastern European spice to a funky hoedown on "Moosamin Eh!", or sounding like a tiny big band on "Going to the Island", these four make smart music that’s also unusually friendly. In fact, it’s hard to listen to this disc without cracking a smile; it's a rough-hewn yet highly sophisticated treat from start to finish.

By Alexander Varty
Read online:http://www.straight.com/article-237258/tim-posgate-cracks-code-new-form-jazz-banjo-hockey

Tim Posgate Hornband Featuring Howard Johnson

Tim Posgate is a Canadian guitarist who has demonstrated the kind
of diverse idiosyncratic mindset in the past ten years that places him
in the same musical vicinity as Bill Frisell.
The disc covers a lot of territory. The material ranges from the
eccentrically funky "Hale Bopp" where Posgate's gritty guitar tone seems at odds with the lush sound of the horns--or does it?--to "Quartier St.Roch" which, with Posgate's indefinably Canadian folk alternative to Frisell's Americana penchant, gives the piece a similar but distinct complexion.
Posgate's writing often allows for mood shifts within the same piece "Quartier St. Roch" may start out with a loping folk rhythm, but by its end it has become more open-ended and considerably darker.
There's room for spirited improvisation from everyone, and this is an
album that,above all, sounds like it was a whole lot of fun to make, despite its stylistic diversity. But Posgate's&Mac250;s well-crafted arrangements give the album its personality. And yet, for all the careful construction, there's a relaxed feel that allows everyone the chance to be more liberally interpretive. This may be Posgate's session, and Howard Johnson,being the most well-known of the bunch, gets special mention on the marquee. But this is truly an equal opportunity band, with Allemano and Nachoff just as vital to its collective sound.
Magically, the group manages to imply all kinds of things that aren't
actually there...
As quirky as it can sometimes get--and tracks like "Pramulating" move into more oblique free territory--the album remains thoroughly engaging throughout.
By John Kelman
see full review:http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=17832

In the Future of Your Dream: Toronto guitarist Tim Posgate celebrates the 10th anniversary of the birth of his label, Guildwood Records, in an entirely appropriate fashion: a project involving another important the birth of his son Dylan. Writing a musical setting for the whimsical and affectionate words of Peter McPhee, Posgate brings together most of his co-conspirators over the years for musical accompaniment. What results is a diverse but cohesive, and most of all, exactingly produced suite of engaging tribute to the wonders of parent-child relationship. As usual, the rhythm section of jean Martin and Rob Clutton kicks, but the little touches of Andrew Downing on bass clarinet, the soulful sax of Quinsin Nachoff and Lina Allemano's perfectly realized trumpet statements add colour to the mix. These are very deliberate and composed songs, not the free flight of Jazzstory, of which Allemano, Clutton and Martin are all parts. The approach to vocals comprises McPhee on recitation and an inventively scored "folk choir" to add harmony and a childlike atmosphere. The second half of the disc are other pieces by McPhee which are just as inventively scored, but with a bit more groove to them. Posgate has achieved an affectionate summary of his musical and parental relationships with this disc, there's lots to listen to before bedtime!

Jazzstory: Guitarist Tim Posgate's innovative quartet is in teasing mood with this fascinating music recorded at The Senator in March last year. Five of the six lengthy original pieces come from the fertile imagination of the leader, with the session's thrust cool and measured, like a series of intimate musical conversations that occur right from the start of "Famous Movie Director."

Trumpeter Lina Allemano and bassist Rob Clutton dream up a broody, cinematic atmosphere here that is further coloured by Posgate and drummer Jean Martin to generate a sense of mystery-almost-delicacy as these wary exchanges take place but there's always enough edginess to break out of the dominant emotions.

The playing is thoughtful and compact, all its introspective ideas coherent. Allemano's sound is pristine here as she delivers some of her best work in following the innovative modes laid down by Canadian expat star Kenny Wheeler.

All four express a lean musical vocabulary but it's never dull, even though the insights are abbreviated, as on "If Boats" and "Three Fine Wines."

Jazzstory: ... Jazzstory defies categorization.

An Eager Leap : Everything's melodic, with overtones of country and pop that make the proceedings reminiscent of Bill Frisell without really sounding like him.

An Eager Leap : Posgate is a prodigious writer, and he shines brightest with his intriguing compositions for his horn band...Posgate followed hi s own muse rather than the jazz world's peer pressure.

mit : (Posgate) moves impressively from Euro-classical modes to melodic bop, making unusual note choices and employing imagination and energy.

mit : Mit shows off a wider palette of sounds and formal ideas...the result is a spacious mix of fire and finesse.

Hoser City : The music is active, if not a bit frantic... it's reminiscent of Cuban electric fusion with a small slice of Allan Holdsworth, a little James Blood Ulmer...

Live Performance: (Posgate) so obviously enjoys playing his guitar that his enthusiasm can't help but rub off on the audience...Posgate's skills as musician and composer are more than enough to put a smile on a jazz lover's face.