The James McGowan Ensemble is a 13-piece group comprised of musicians from Ottawa, Canada. Reaching In is an introspective collective of 16 compositions based on McGowan’s poem, “Imagine.”
The central musicians are the Modasaurus jazz-fusion quartet (McGowan on piano, Alex Moxton on guitar, JP Lapensee on bass, and Jamie Holmes on drums) who join with the Despax string quartet (Cendrine and Jean Despax on violins, Maxime Despax on viola and Valerie Despax on cello, with Olivier Philippe-Auguste on viola). They are joined by Petr Cancura and Mike Tremblay on tenor sax, Mark Ferguson on trombone, and Ed Lister on trumpet. “Imagine” is used to divide the suite into three sections with spoken word performed by former Ottawa English Poet Laureate Jamaal Amir Akbari.
Reaching In began as a concept for James McGowan with compositions based on personal and collective struggles and progression in life’s journey. It forms the first half of an extended story, told through music, spoken-word program notes, and visual art, the second part of which will be released in 2024. The movements depict a journey through experiences including isolation, low self-worth, social anxiety, addiction, and loss, to finding peace, acceptance, belonging, and a sense of community.
This LP is mainly a combination of classical and jazz but other influences including hip-hop, Latin, and a healthy dose of free improvisation are felt too. To appreciate the album fully, a certain open-mindedness is needed, as is a willingness to travel through a range of experiences with the musicians, each of which is led by the compositional processes and thoughts of McGowan.
The first track, “Imagine Part 1,” is played by an octet plus voice and combines spoken narrative about feeling alone, trapped in thoughts and prayers. The narrator speaks of questioning, uncertainty, and the mind’s journey as it seeks understanding and reasons, all over beautifully worked, arcing strings.
From the powerfully evocative “Thoughts and Prayers” to the ethereal meanderings of “Uncertain Future,” the beautifully orchestrated title track or the powerful solo work over the swinging ensemble of Petr Cancura on “Time to Rise,” Reaching In is one of contrasts and different tonal experiences. There is classical, jazz, fusion and even swing with “Augmented Reality” taking on a big band effect with trombone solos. Yet there are strong connections created by the use of recurring themes and pervasive musical motifs. The music creates its own narrative, inviting the listener to experience the richness and changeability of tones. The journey is through wonder and the eternal yearning for clarity. Each track forms part of an immense final picture – that of life and its meaning.
The classical jazz fusion gives the composer the tools of both genres and the power of both too. James McGowan uses techniques that give the fusion the ability to reach out as well as gaze inward, to resolve internal conflict. Many of the pieces have classical and jazz elements in opposition or juxtaposition, while other tracks including “Inner Peace,” “Through My Tears, I Smile” and “Acceptance” fuse the genres, so they work together. The classical jazz alignment also allows the use of techniques common to both genres, like the fugue elements in “Through My Tears, I Cry” and other techniques.
The three parts of “Imagine” serve to remind the listener of the journey the music is seeking to enable, and connect the three parts of the 16-movement suite. Based around the key of E minor, the suite uses descending semitones to give a sense of melancholy, but there are also places where the music is uplifting and hopeful. “Time to Rise” for example is a traditional jazz-laced composition in the main with solos, including a glorious sax-led section, ensemble work, and a definite aspiration towards hope. In “Grief and Despair” the two quartets combine with the jazz-fusion quartet freely improvising across the repeated ostinato of the strings.
Cultural influences include Indian music – as in “Inner Peace” where the middle section is a peaceful, grounding meditative melody in Lydian mode, inspired by Raga Yaman from North Indian classical music.
What serves to draw Reaching In together as a whole is the use of recurring themes that appear in different pieces such as those in “Augmented Reality,” “Uncertain Future,” “Tripping Triceratops,” “Time to Rise,” “Internal Conflict” and “Simple Reality.” This reimagining of themes and re-working of previous melodies creates a connection, even though they are presented in different patterns and tones.
A conceptual album and one that draws on many influences, from the trippy, happy-go-lucky emphasis on the aptly named “Tripping Triceratops” to the contemplative solo piano of “Inner Child” and the deeply moving “Grief and Despair,” Reaching In attempts to traverse a multitude of human emotions, relating them in the music and largely succeeds.
The arrangements are beautiful, and the combinations of instruments are well-chosen. With the juxtaposition and contrasting genres coming together in many places, there is a continuity – much like life. Reaching In is an interesting, rich, album that demonstrates James McGowan’s skill at looking beyond genre definitions and using elements of more than one to convey his thoughts and desires.
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- Jamie Baum Septet + – ‘What Times Are These’ (2024) - June 3, 2024
- Wabi Sabi – ‘The Love Insane’ (2024) - March 24, 2024
