THE Montreal jazz family is the Doxas. George, the dad (producer and master of the studio), Chet (saxophone) and Jim (drums). I could have mentioned the Biddles, but they’ve been keeping a low profile for many years. On the contrary, Chet and Jim are always active, the former on the New York scene, where he’s been living for the last few years (Brooklyn), and the latter still in Montreal where he can be seen almost everywhere. Blood ties are strong, they never stay far apart. One of these encounters took place in 2022 at Dad’s studio in Pointe-Claire (West Island of Montreal), and the result was this fraternal album, Kindred, which will be available this Friday, October 20th. This is jazz from a very good school, steeped in hard bop, neo bop and hushed balladry. A natural, spontaneous energy where the improvisational verve is shared equally between the soloists, Chet and Jim of course, but also Marc Copland (dazzling, cohesive, poetic) on piano and Adrian ”Mr Cool” Vedady on double bass (an indestructible pillar and remarkably flexible at the same time). Wow! This Kindred is inspired at the highest level, albeit in a classic way. We want more like it in the future. Long live Family!
