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Toronto's
Time Warp is not only one of Canada's
longest-lived jazz groups [over fifteen years], but also one of the most
artistically significant. Time Warp is uncommon for
more than its longevity. The bassist and drummer are the band's de facto
leaders, which isn't usually the case. Both of them compose -- also rare
for a rhythm section. [And
what a rhythm section! Combining the supple drive of a
Ron Carter with the inventive musicality of an
Ed Blackwell -- and then add those horns --
"tasty" doesn't begin to describe these guys.] However, the real genius of this
band is the skillful way that they focus themselves on a body of original
compositions which encompass nearly the whole of jazz chronology: their
material ranges from the
comfort and honesty of 30s
small-group swing to the
kaleidoscopic tang of 40s
bebop, from the
cinematic groove of 50s
cool to the
ethnic modalism of middle-period
John Coltrane, and the
fractured,
sparkling free sound of the early-60s
Ornette Coleman classic quartet with
Don Cherry,
Charlie Haden and
Ed Blackwell. Even more importantly, though,
Time Warp achieves this range without sounding like scattered
dilettantes: everything they do sounds like them, revealing the
unifying thread of jazz's evolution. Everywhere they venture musically,
they sound like they belong. This ability to encompass the entirety of
jazz history with a coherent personal sound puts them in the rare company
of composers like
Charles Mingus and
Duke Ellington: high praise, you bet!
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