Cameron Pearce: Progression
Rattle Records

With Progression, trumpeter Cameron Pearce brings the considerable experience he's acquired as a member of the Christchurch Symphony (close to thirty years) and as a founding member of the Symposium Jazz Orchestra (circa 2007) to his impressive Rattle debut. In doing so, he draws not only on his extensive background as a player but as an educator and author: Pearce, who earned a Bachelor of Musical Arts at the Ara Institute of Canterbury and a Master of Arts at the City University of New York's Aaron Copland School of Music, has taught jazz theory, arranging, composition, and trumpet at Ara Music Arts since 1998 and recently published the book Modern Etudes for Solo Trumpet. In being so versatile, it's no surprise he's become an in-demand player for pit orchestras and recording sessions in Christchurch.

To create Progression, Pearce augmented himself on trumpet and flugelhorn with brass colleagues from the Symposium Jazz Orchestra—Barrett Hocking (trumpet, flugelhorn), Scott Taitoko (tenor trombone), Pablo Ruiz Henao (tenor trombone, bass trombone, tuba)—and drummer/percussionist Joe McCallum. A major coup was having renowned trumpeter Ingrid Jensen join them as a soloist for the project. She recorded her parts separately at The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn (the others at Ara Music Arts in Christchurch), but you'd never know it: the performances sound as if all involved were feet away from one another in the studio space.

The work itself is a dynamic, ten-part composition that defies straightforward categorization, pulling as it does from jazz, classical, folk, and other genres. That Pearce cites Copland and trumpeters Kenny Wheeler and Ron Miles as influences testifies to the work's breadth, and its creator acknowledges Gabriel Fauré, Steve Reich, and The Westerlies also found their way into the material. Listeners familiar with the latter brass outfit will recognize immediately the connection between Pearce's recording and theirs. Progression deftly straddles classical and jazz in being, on the one hand, a concerto-like piece for trumpet and, on the other, an ambitious jazz-inflected suite that affords ample space for the improvising soloist. Thoughtfully structured and sequenced, it's bookend by a prelude and coda and intersperses a pair of unaccompanied trumpet interludes.

After the brass players generate a beautiful, chorale-like sound to initiate the work, the enveloping “Daybreak” perpetuates the lustrous tone but with this time Jensen assuming a front-line role. Her command of the trumpet is well-known, and Pearce has granted her a terrific showcase for her talents. That aforementioned Reich influence is audible in the hocketing-styled intro to “Horizon,” though the tune, especially with McCallum's snare added, thereafter ventures into an American folk zone where Copland's influence is felt. As the energy level rises, one senses a subtle infusion of joyful New Orleans spirit in the performance. Pearce smartly changes moods throughout, as shown by having the hymnal “Apricity” follow “Horizon” and serving up an entrancing folk chorale The Westerlies would be proud to call its own. Here and elsewhere, Jensen solos fluidly when not embedding herself as seamlessly into the group fabric. Further warmth is provided by the bluesy serenade “NOLA-by,” the music this time recalling the ensemble splendour Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy sometimes got up to. After the florid, cadenza-like stylings of the first interlude, a funkier feel underscores the jazz swing of “Intersect” before a second interlude and the lovely “Coda” conclude the work on a stirring note.

As is always the case with Rattle releases, Pearce's is handsomely presented, arriving as it does in a sturdy hardcover package with a matte finish, fold-out inner panels, and the disc tucked cozily inside. Weighing in at approximately half-an-hour, the release is modest by CD standards; as an artistic statement, however, Progression feels complete and in no way lacking. It's easy to visualize Jensen and the others presenting this exquisite, fully realized work on stage to an audience riveted from start to finish.

March 2025