tim posgate hornband featuring howard johnson

"...it's the way the band play off one another that animates the music, from the New Orleans raunch of Big Top Blues to the sprightly Appalachian lines of Moosamin Eh!"

J.D. Considine - Globe and Mail

Let’s see: trumpet, tenor sax, banjo, and tuba? Tunes that smash modern jazz, klezmer, Celtic, bluegrass, and New Orleans styles together with cracked abandon? On paper, Banjo Hockey sounds like a little bit of a mess, but in practice Tim Posgate has cracked the code to a new form of jazz, one that’s wildly creative but that also has plenty of populist appeal.

Posgate, a Toronto guitarist who turns to his trusty banjo for most of this disc’s 11 tunes, has a keen ear for melody and an even better one for supportive collaborators. On Banjo Hockey, he scores big points for enlisting jazz legend Howard Johnson, a veteran tuba and baritone sax player who’s worked with the Gil Evans Orchestra, Taj Mahal, and the Band, among many others. But the other Hornband horns—Lina Allemano on trumpet and Quinsin Nachoff on tenor sax and clarinet—are equally attuned to their leader’s playful, genre-bending ways.

Whether channelling the spirit of Louis Armstrong and friends on “Big Top Blues”, adding Eastern European spice to a funky hoedown on “Moosamin Eh!”, or sounding like a tiny big band on “Going to the Island”, these four make smart music that’s also unusually friendly. In fact, it’s hard to listen to this disc without cracking a smile; it’s a rough-hewn yet highly sophisticated treat from start to finish.
- Georgia Straight

Guitarist Posgate leaves his six strings for the five-string banjo, and hooks up with legendary Miles Davis/Band/Taj Mahal sousaphonist Howard Johnson, saxophonist Quinsin Nachoff and trumpeter Lina Allemano for one of the coolest sounding instrumental outings to pass my desk lately. This is like gin joint stomps from outer space — bouncing all over the place borne on the percussive picking of the banjo and that silly, but oh-so-cool tuba groove.

Grade: A
- Vancouver Province

Tim Posgate is a Canadian guitarist who has demonstrated the kind of diverse idiosyncratic mindset in the past ten years that places him in the same musical vicinity as Bill Frisell. His latest release, Tim Posgate Hornband Featuring Howard Johnson, draws an even more visible link, with clear stylistic reference to Frisell’s mid-‘90s quartet with trumpeter Ron Miles, trombonist Curtis Fowlkes, and violinist Eyvind Kang. Posgate’s group operates with a similar premise--steadfastly eschewing a more traditional rhythm section, but still managing to develop all the forward motion it needs, and creating a broader textural swath at the same time. But there are clear differences as well. Posgate’s Hornband--featuring trumpeter Lina Allemano, woodwind multi-instrumentalist Quinsin Nachoff, and special guest Howard Johnson on tuba, baritone saxophone, and pennywhistle--is certainly unconventional, and it places more consistent responsibility on its members. Frisell’s quartet would often find different members taking on rhythm section roles at various times; Johnson’s tuba and baritone saxophone, while certainly getting the opportunity to come forward, are more likely to be found anchoring the bass and rhythm roles--although Posgate himself is equally likely to be found in an accompanying position. The disc covers a lot of territory. The material ranges from the eccentrically funky “Hale Bopp,” where Posgate’s gritty guitar tone seems at odds with the lush sound of the horns--or does it?--to “Quartier St. Roche,” which, with Posgate’s indefinably Canadian folk alternative to Frisell’s Americana penchant, gives the piece a similar but distinct complexion. Posgate’s writing often allows for mood shifts within the same piece--“Quartier St. Roche” may start out with a loping folk rhythm, but by its end it has become more open-ended and considerably darker. There’s room for spirited improvisation from everyone, and this is an album that, above all, sounds like it was a whole lot of fun to make, despite its stylistic diversity. But Posgate’s well-crafted arrangements give the album its personality. And yet, for all the careful construction, there’s a relaxed feel that allows everyone the chance to be more liberally interpretive. This may be Posgate’s session, and Howard Johnson, being the most well-known of the bunch, gets special mention on the marquee. But this is truly an equal opportunity band, with Allemano and Nachoff just as vital to its collective sound. Track Listing: Hale Bopp; Quartier St. Roche; Martin Martin Martin; Rob Clutton; On the Merry-Go-Round; "F" as in Fun; How Post-Modern of Me; Goodbye, Au Revoir; Muddy; Pramulating; The Shape; 50% Pure Wool Personnel: Lina Allemano (trumpet); Howard Johnson (tuba, baritone saxophone, pennywhistle); Quinsin Nachoff (tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute); Tim Posgate (electric & acoustic guitar, banjo, acoustic lap slide) CD Review Center Upcoming Release Center - allaboutjazz.com

Since July 1 is Canada Day, a national holiday in Canada to celebrate its birthday, the Ottawa International Jazz Festival changed the nature of its programming. Free shows were offered during the day at the Confederation Park main stage--major Canada Day celebrations were to take place during the evening on Parliament Hill only a few blocks away, so there were no main stage events that evening. Regular programming only took place at the 4 pm Connoisseur Series at Library and Archives Canada, and the final show of the 8 pm Improv Invitational Series at the National Arts Centre’s Fourth Stage. And yet, despite the relative quiet of the festival on Canada Day, there was still a choice to be made at 4 pm: whether to see pianist Lynne Arriale’s Trio at the Library and Archives Canada theatre, or Canadian guitarist Tim Posgate and his Hornband, featuring tuba and baritone saxophonist Howard Johnson, in Confederation Park? I made the decision to catch Posgate and, despite a severe thunderstorm that broke up both Posgate’s set and the heat wave that had settled in over Ottawa for the past couple of weeks, the quartet--which also featured trumpeter Lina Allemano and woodwind multi-instrumentalist Quinsin Nachoff--managed to squeeze in seven pieces from its recently released Tim Posgate Hornband featuring Howard Johnson.

Personality can often define approach and, because Tim Posgate is a more outgoing personality, his playing reflects a direct and less idiosyncratic sound--although there are also clear links to Frisell in terms of Posgate’s skewed sense of humour, which imbues some of his writing and arrangements. Before the thunderstorm descended, creating a thirty-minute break in the set, Posgate and the Hornband worked their way through his detailed arrangements of the oddly funky “Hale Bopp,” the blues-informed “Muddy,” and the lighter “’F’ as in Fun,” where Posgate traded his Fender Stratocaster for a banjo. The complexity of some of the writing manifested itself in the combination of form--where specific members of the group maintained a solid, albeit unconventional, rhythm section--and freedom for improvisation-which ranged from individuals to all three horns at once, at times. But the group managed to imply more than was actually there, as it did on the record. It’s always a treat to hear Howard Johnson, and despite the relatively transient nature of this project--the group has three Canadian dates, is off to Europe for two festival appearances and then that’s it--there was a mesh between the players that lent the impression that they’ve played together for considerably more time. This was even more evident in the second portion of their set, following the thunderstorm, where they worked their way through the Celtic-inflected “50% Pure Wool,” which featured Johnson on pennywhistle; “How Post-Modern of Me,” with its darker complexion; “Fungus,” written for Charles Mingus and the only nonalbum composition; and the quirky roots-centric “Martin Martin Martin,” which featured Posgate on lap steel guitar. With only five performances on the tour, Ottawa was fortunate to be one of Posgate and the Hornband’s stops. It was unfortunate that there wasn’t a larger turnout, due to the weather and the other activities going on in the downtown core for Canada Day. Still, the musicians played to a couple of hundred as if they were playing to a couple of thousand, and they were well-received by the small but appreciative crowd. - allaboutjazz.com

(Posgate) so obviously enjoys playing his guitar that his enthusiasm can’t help but rub off on the audience...Posgate’s skills as musician and composer are more than enough to put a smile on a jazz lover’s face.” •

Chris Smith, Winnipeg Free Press - Winnipeg Free Press