'Interblaze' by Ally Fiola
Nova Scotian alto saxophonist Ally Fiola puts the fun into funky jazz on her second album as a leader, Interblaze. Fiola’s neologism denotes a passion born of experiences and emotions, driving her penchant for invention on the set’s eight selections. As with so much jazz history, however, Fiola realizes that originality often comes from backtracking to some roots.
Her Next Quest octet revisits the second line formation of the kind of classic New Orleans ensembles that still take to the city's streets for funeral processions. So, where an upright or electric bass may otherwise secure the band’s bottom end, Addison Sowery-Quinn plies his sousaphone for burbles and bloops that might befit a German polka band (no bad thing, that); the effect lends even Fiola's most mournful compositions airs of joy. The triple facility of Glenn Patscha on piano, organ and accordian gives The New Quest their own Art Tatum/Booker T. Jones/Joey Miskulin hybrid to accent the band's brass triumvirate.
As for all those lead instruments, Fiola and tenor player Jeff Coffin trade and intertwine in melodic lines like giddily wrestling snakes. While the baritone more than buttresses the band’s uplifting attack, the overall result remains a vivid expression of a tumultuous time in Fiola’s life, encompassing wonder, sorrow, discovery and more. The collection concludes with a dedication to her grandad in the form of as medley of John Newton’s best-loved hymn and one of Bill Withers’ biggest hits. It’s a soulful way to end an imaginative artistic statement already full of spirit.
