The Marie Goudy 12tet (featuring Jocelyn Barth): The Bitter Suite
Marie Goudy

The Bitter Suite is a preternaturally mature debut from trumpeter Marie Goudy, a 2017 graduate of University of Toronto's Masters in Jazz Performance program and the beneficiary of performance opportunities with Cleo Laine, Maria Schneider, Michael Buble, Donny McCaslin, and others. Fronting a jazz ensemble consisting of twelve instrumentalists and vocalist Jocelyn Barth (and ably abetted by producer John MacLeod), the Toronto-based Goudy has accomplished something rather remarkable with this thematically rich release.

Her lyrical song cycle comprises six parts, with four seasons-centered movements framed by a brief intro and a paean to the relationship shared by lifelong friends Goudy and Barth. Not only does the suite reflect the cyclical changing of the seasons, a parallel narrative expresses the stages of a romantic relationship, from the excitement of summer love and the comfort of established partnership in fall to love's sad waning during winter and the renewal of hope that arrives with spring.

On musical grounds, Goudy's creation distances itself from others in featuring a pronounced mariachi influence, with parts written in particular mariachi styles and vihuela player Andrés Gándara involved as one of the musicians. The move isn't an affectation: as Goudy's been playing mariachi for years in various groups, it's only natural it would surface in her debut project. As she's also schooled in jazz and its history, The Bitter Suite is understandably informed by landmark recordings and artists, among them Miles Davis's Sketches of Spain. It's possible to hear echoes of Gil Evans and Maria Schneider in Goudy's luscious arrangements, though the album is ultimately a Goudy creation full stop, not a pastiche.

Given the prominence of her role, a large part of the project's success hinges on Barth's performance, but on that count there's no cause for concern. Her breathy vocalizing is a delight, and if you can imagine the sweetness of Ella Fitzgerald crossed with the huskiness of Peggy Lee you'll have some idea of its sound. The instrumental resources—two trumpets, two trombones, three saxes, French horn, guitar, piano, bass, drums, and vihuela—illuminate Goudy's charts with radiant colour, and solo spots are thoughtfully allocated, with one or two arising during a given track.

It's fitting that the first sound heard on “Intro” is Goudy unaccompanied, but the warm horn and vocal textures that subsequently flood the piece serve notice the recording is a group presentation. Written in a Son Jailciense style, “Son for Sunshine” brings the mariachi dimension to the forefront as Goudy and fellow trumpeter Brad Eaton declaim joyously before Barth enters with an uplifting celebration of summer romance; as much as all such elements register strongly, it's Goudy's robust arrangement for the full ensemble that stands out most, especially when the horns and saxes provide such a wonderful counterpoint to the vocal. Slightly slower, “Autumn's Embrace,” which perpetuates the mariachi theme by grounding its rhythms in a Huapango style, achieves liftoff when saxists Matt Woroshyl (alto) and John Nicholson (tenor) respectively rouse the group to exuberant heights. Chill sets in for “Winter,” this one rooted in an Afro-Cuban 9/8 feel that Barth and company essay as breezily as anything else on the album; though horn textures predominate on The Bitter Suite, the track provides guitarist Chris Platt an opportunity to suggest the harshness of winter winds with a biting, distortion-tinged solo. The album ends with “Remember the Days,” a lovely stand-alone ballad about the friendship between Barth and Goudy that's not formally part of the suite yet whose heartfelt expression nonetheless provides a satisfying resolution to the project.

October 2018