Canaille

Canaille is the latest project by wondrous Toronto, ON musician Jeremy Strachan and it furthers his unique entry into jazz. A hardcore punk vet and key utility player on some of the more adventurous indie rock generated within Southern Ontario in the past decade, Strachan's exploration of improvised musical forms has been understandably free of authoritarian convention. While his bucket and woodwinds duo, Feuermusik, have crafted something wholly idiosyncratic, Strachan's a reverent student of masters like Coltrane, and Potential Things possesses a jolly buoyancy and classic timelessness. With Nicolas Buligan on trumpet, Michael Smith on bass and Dan Gaucher on drums, Canaille take on close to a dozen fresh Strachan tunes that exhibit free expression within thoughtful structures. Even in something jarring like "Screech is Back," which shifts and sputters with abandon, there's a refreshing focus on melody that bolsters Strachan's status as one of Canada's great young composers.