Sarah Jerrom: Magpie
TPR Records

Epic in scale, concept, and design, Magpie is a major artistic statement from vocalist-composer Sarah Jerrom. Scored for jazz orchestra and four voices and fashioned as a transformative musical odyssey, the eight-part, eighty-seven-minute suite is performed by a large ensemble comprised of upper-tier Canadian talent. As often happens, the seed for the work was planted unexpectedly, in this case the moment Jerrom witnessed a gathering of magpies and crows doing a wintry dance while she was enjoying a two-week artist residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in early 2018. That prompted the development of a fantastical story-line that, with the main character, Woman/Magpie as the guide, explores subject matter having to do with feminism, infertility, grief, recovery, resilience, and love (more specifically, the narrative involves a woman who's transformed into a magpie and, accompanied by her companion Grey Byrd, undertakes a quest to find, obtain, and restore three magic stones in order to save the world from suffering). It's a story about magpies, yes, but it also deals with pregnancy loss and the emotional experiences that accompany it. Integrating jazz performance and classical writing into a large-scale hybrid, the work impresses as a dynamic realization of its creator's imaginative vision.

The Greek chorus-like vocal dimension is well-accounted for by Jerrom, Laura Swankey, Galen Sedlak, and Jackson Welchner, while the instrumental component, with conductor Christian Overton at the helm, features six woodwind and eight brass players plus robust rhythm section support from pianist Nancy Walker, bassist Rob McBride, and drummer Ernesto Cervini. Followers of Canadian jazz will recognize many of the names involved, including saxophonists Mike Murley, Kirk MacDonald, and Tara Davidson, trumpeter Kevin Turcotte, and trombonist William Carn. The contributors weren't just randomly picked, either: Jerrom wrote much of the material with particular musicians in mind, a detail that makes the project all the more special.

Nothing happens by chance, as confirmed by Jerrom's detailed track-by-track notes in the release booklet. Each movement focuses on a specific stage of the quest, and creatures within the story are often personified by a specific player. She notes, for example, that the character of Grey Byrd was written with Davidson in mind, such that her soprano sax embodies the figure throughout, and during “The Mountain Cries” the oboe and flute of Chieh-Ying Lu and Laura Chambers, respectively, give voice to magpie calls that Jerrom recorded in Banff National Park. Multiple equivalencies between character and instrument occur during the work's presentation.

With Jerrom's crystal clear voice at the forefront, the journey's initiated with “The Road” and the heroine's transformation into a magpie. Right away, the listener's captivated by the folk-mythological narrative and the orchestral sweep of the music. As happens throughout, Jerrom structures the movement with great care to allow extended solos to emerge alongside intricate vocal sections and the melodic elements that give the part a solid framework. Conceived as somewhat of a tribute to Kenny Wheeler, “For Joy” opens with a stirring flugelhorn solo by Turcotte and follows with music that mirrors the love developing between Magpie and Grey Byrd in rhapsodic expressions by Turcotte and Davidson.

Every movement distinguishes itself from the others. “Circling Feathers” is memorable for highlighting the lustrous vocal interplay of Swankey and Sedlak before lead lines are shared by all four singers. The coupling of Lu's oboe and Chambers' flute lends “The White Elk” a chamber classical feel before Davidson's alto sax and James Rhodes's muted trumpet give it an elegant jazz ballad character. Big-band writing drives “Nest Predator,” which also serves as a vehicle for an extended tenor spotlight for MacDonald and a beautiful display of vocal quartet harmony. Speaking of spotlights, Davidson enjoys a strong soprano one in “Carrion,” as does baritone saxist Shirantha Beddage. Jerrom isn't daunted by long-form movements, as “The Mountain Cries” and “Crystallization” show with respective running-times of thirteen and seventeen minutes. Whereas Jerrom's lyrical side comes to the fore in the former's vocal interplay, the towering latter resolves the work, musical and narratively, on a suitably epic note.

May 2024