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Ernesto Cervini: Joy

By Dan McClenaghan
October 28, 2022
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Joy. That's how Canadian drummer Ernesto Cervini rolls. All of his musical undertakings—and there are many—strut along the sunny side of the street with smiles on their faces, carnations in their lapels. Indeed, in his side gig as the boss of Orange Grove Publicity—representing some of Canada's finest jazz artists— joy, positivity and general all around good vibes pervade.

For his album Joy, Cervini brings in three of his regular working groups, Turboprop, Tetrahedron and TuneTown, to help him explore author Louise Penny's "Gamache, Three Pines" series of detective mystery novels, written works that exude the qualities of goodness, decency and a sometimes exuberant, sometime placid acceptance of life as it is, from the perspective of optimism and faith in human nature.

The album's opener, "Three Pines," sounds like something from a nondenominational church. A jazzy one. The wordless vocals (a first for an Ernesto Cervini disc) from

Felicity WIlliams

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Felicity WIlliams,

Emilie-Claire Barlow

vocals
b.1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Emilie-Claire Barlow and

Amy Cervini

vocals
b.1977

" data-original-title="" title="">Amy Cervini, are a small choir of angelic celebration of life, floating on clouds inside an exquisite rhythm section. "Surprised By Joy" cooks over a high flame, the rhythm section a pot full of turbulent boiling water, a pan bursting into saxophone flames on top of the stove. "Myrna," the name of a Three Pines used book store owner, oozes along on a noir-ish liquid groove, giving the impression that the store remains open into the wee hours.

Sets of this sort, with a shuffle of bands and vocal and nonvocal music, have the potential to stumble from a lack of cohesion. But the best of them, like the ECM Records Selected Series albums, thoughtfully curated and produced—drummer

Jon Christensen

drums
1943 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">Jon Christensen's 2004 contribution to this series comes to mind—are ear-opening delights. Joy is in that league. Vocalist Amy Cervini, who steps to the microphone on the disc's previously-mentioned opener, produced Joy, assuring the avoidance the stumble. With the Louise Penny theme, Amy Cervini's deft hand, and top notch musicianship all around—not to forget the distinctive Ernesto Cervini compositions—Joy is a compelling set, beginning with its "Three Pines" opener, until its closer, "I'm FINE," featuring gorgeous three horn harmony and a laid back tenor sax solo from

Kelly Jefferson

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Kelly Jefferson that evokes to perfection the title of the tune.

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Track Listing

Three Pines; Surprised By Joy; Myrna; Sandalwood And Rosewater; Clara; Roar And Havoc; Ruth's Rosa; The Moth; Oliver & Gabri; Bella Bella; Peter Morrow; The Beautiful Mystery; Lacoste; Beuvoir; I'm FINE.

Personnel

Ernesto Cervini

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Felicity Williams: vocals (1); Emilie-Claire Barlow: vocals (1); Amy Cervini: vocals (1); Alex Sameras: Vocals (8, 12); Virginia MacDonald: clarinet (7); Tara Davidson: alto saxophone (2, 5, 9, 10, 12, 15); Luis Deniz: alto saxophone (6); Kelly Jefferson: tenor and soprano saxophones: (2, 3, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15); Jim Lewis: trumpet (7); William Carn: trombone: (2, 9, 10, 12, 15); Adrean Farrugia: piano (2, 4, 10, 12, 15); Don Scott: guitar (1); Dan Fortin: acoustic bass (1, 2, 4, 7, 10, 12, 15); Artie Roth: acoustic bass (3, 13); Rich Brown: electric bass (6, 14).

Album information

Title: Joy | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Three Pines Records

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