Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprob @ Jazz Bistro!

Celebrating their brand new release ‘A Canadian Songbook’

Tara Davidson – Alto Saxophone
Joel Frahm – Tenor Saxophone
William Carn – Trombone 
Adrean Farrugia – Piano 
Dan Loomis – Bass 
Ernesto Cervini – Drums 

May 24 & 25

Sets @ 8 and 9:30pm

Following up his ambitious JUNO Award-nominated 2022 album Joy (“a compositional tour-de-force, with strong melodies scored for diverse instrumentations” — Ted Panken, DownBeat), Toronto drummer and composer Ernesto Cervini is proud to announce the release of A Canadian Songbook, a vivid, fiery, insightful exploration of music composed by Canadians. This outing finds Cervini returning to the helm of his accomplished and long-running sextet Turboprop, with a thick, contrapuntal three-horn sound that’s been developing over the course of three previous albums: Abundance (2018), Rev (2017) and Turboprop (2015). Turboprop’s personnel also played an important role on Joy, along with a cast of singers and members of Cervini’s other projects, notably Tetrahedron and TuneTown. 

On A Canadian Songbook it’s Turboprop all the way, soaring on a couple of impressive Cervini originals and arrangements of the pop/rock numbers “When I Fall” by The Barenaked Ladies and “Clumsy” by Toronto’s own Our Lady Peace. Brilliant tunes by Cervini’s contemporaries and friends, Allison Au (“Aureole”), James Hill (“Skeletons”) and Turboprop trombonist William Carn (“The Inertia of Complacency”) round out the program. “The two pop songs on the record I’ve been listening to since they were released, when I was a teenager,” Cervini says. “Allison’s and James’ songs I fell in love with while working publicity for their albums,” he adds, alluding to his role as founding director of Orange Grove Publicity. 

With two saxes (Tara Davidson, Joel Frahm) and Carn’s trombone offering harmonic richness, limitless versatility and off-the-charts improvisational prowess, Cervini can tell the story of what these songs inspire in him, aided by the eloquent, formidable rhythm section partners Dan Loomis (bass) and Adrean Farrugia (piano). “I’m happy to present my reflection on the Canadian music scene and the wonderful composers within it,” writes Cervini in the liner notes. “I’ve always been very proud of my Canadian heritage. I love how supportive this country is of artists, and I think that support is reflected in the success Canadian artists have on a global scale.”