My review of Hutchinson Andrew Trio;s Prairie Modern, today at All About Jazz.

If Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are the only places in Canada considered, in any way, as hotbeds for jazz, the prairie provinces are, with the exception of the annual Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music, pretty close to the bottom of the list of other Canadian cities that have small but aspiring jazz scenes. If anything, the Alberta-based Hutchinson Andrew Trio (also going by the name HAT) is clear evidence of not existing jazz scenes in Edmonton and Calgary, but damn good ones. Where pianist Chris Andrew, bassist Kodi Hutchinson are positioned in the food chain of their scene is uncertain, but based on Prairie Modern—HAT's third recording for Chronograph Records and first to feature drummer Karl Schwonik—it's hard to believe that they are anywhere but the top of it. This appropriately titled album may come from somewhere other than those cities considered to be Canadian jazz meccas, but Prairie Modern doesn't just position HAT as deserving of attention in its own country, but on an international stage as well.

Part of what makes Prairie Modern such a success—beyond the strong writing (largely by Andrew, with two tracks collaborative efforts with Hutchinson) and confident, compelling performances from the entire trio—is the appearance of saxophonist Donny McCaslin on six of the album's thirteen tracks. McCaslin spends enough time in Canada to almost qualify for citizenship, but his work here is as good as any of his collaborations with American artists like Dave Douglas, Joel Harrison or Antonio Sanchez, not to mention his own growing discography. McCaslin is nothing but consistent in the energy and commitment he brings to any project, moving effortlessly from a simmer to a burn in the Andrew/Hutchinson opener, "Mountain Rose," a lyrical gem that begins in a suitably pastoral space but ultimately turns up the heat when, after Andrew's more introspective solo, McCaslin reiterates its singable theme before diving in, with his characteristically potent tone in any register and wide open ears that pick up on everything from subtle piano gestures to more overt signals from Schwonik, all the while driving the trio to his own higher octane terrain.

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