Toronto-based drummer, composer and bandleader Ernesto Cervini, best known for his widely acclaimed Turboprop ensemble, recently made a record that shows off still more facets of what he is capable of. Joy (TPR Records) is not only more varied than his various ongoing projects, but it is at the same time very accordant, held together by a theme.
You see, Cervini wrote these set of songs motivated by the Canadian author Louise Penny’s Gamache series of mystery novels and the positive traits illuminated by its characters, storylines and settings. Cervini changes the lineup from track to track to match the song’s subject and arranges each song to match the feel of the novelist’s narrative. It doesn’t seem easy when there are no lyrics save for one short track, but Ernesto Cervini’s craftiness makes it work. Every track tells a different story.
“Ruth’s Rosa,” the video of which is debuting above, is an ode to one of Penny’s character’s Ruth – an eccentric elderly lady who also happens to be a world-renowned poet – and her pet duck Rosa. Clarinetist Virginia McDonald and trumpeter Jim Lewis are featured on this selection, and bassist Dan Fortin rounds out the chord-less quartet that Cervini has assembled for this song.
It’s a blues-based, easy swinging number that in some ways hearkens back to pre-war jazz (maybe because of the presence of two horns that were more prevalent back then) but McDonald and Lewis are also projecting the irascible personality of the ol’ lady, and even the foul-mouthed Rosa who is prone to utter a word that rhymes with “duck.” Cervini, meanwhile, is his usual relaxed but confident self on the drums.
Ernesto Cervini’s Joy becomes available for sale on October 7, 2022.
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