Rebecca Hennessy's Makeshift Island: Live at The Jazz Room
Rebecca Hennessy

With current releases and concert dates rivaling pre-pandemic levels, it can be easy to forget that dark period ever happened. This latest recording from trumpeter, singer, and songwriter Rebecca Hennessy and her Makeshift Island outfit reminds us of that time in featuring a live set from December 4th, 2021 when musicians were emerging from isolation and tentatively resuming public performance. Captured at The Jazz Room in Kitchener-Waterloo, Hennessy, guitarist Kevin Breit, pianist Tania Gill, bassist Michael Herring, and drummer Dave Clark run through selections from All The Little Things You Do (2020) and Joy Will Find Us (2023), with gratitude palpably conveyed by the performances (after introducing the band members towards the end of the opening song, Hennessy says how good it feels “to be together again and to be playing and playing for you”).

In presenting live versions of previously issued material, the forty-minute release is admittedly something of a stopgap, though it does whet the appetite for Hennessy's upcoming studio release by featuring a song from it. And there are differences between the studio and live treatments, with the latter marked by a generally looser feel and explorative sensibility. That's nowhere more evident than in the opening “All The Little Things You Do” when the five stretch out and transform the original into a spirited jam that shows them receptive to wherever the material leads. Teasing at the main melody throughout the eight-minute-plus take, Hennessy and company oscillate between moments tinged with dreaminess and free-floating abandon.

While she isn't a classically trained singer, her warm vocal delivery is infused with humanity and vulnerability and as such is equally well-suited to conveying joy and melancholy. Some of the songs were written in the wake of her mother's passing and naturally express heartache; they also, however, express appreciation for a life well-lived and honour her memory with dignity. It's hard to imagine anyone listening to songs such as “Don't Fight It,” “It's A Beautiful Day To Say Goodbye,” and “When Stars Shine Bright” and not being deeply moved by their wise acceptance of life's cycles. There's resilience too, as shown by the triumphant declamations of “Here I Am,” plus bluesy, New Orleans-styled playfulness (“There's One Thing”).

March 2025