Country : Canada Label : TPR Records Genres and styles : Jazz Year : 2024

Sarah Jerrom – Magpie

· by Frédéric Cardin

Toronto singer/songwriter Sarah Jerrom’s difficult ordeal of miscarriage led her to pay attention to many details of everyday life that she hadn’t previously paid as much attention to. It was the observation of a strangely coordinated flight of a flock of magpies that captivated her to the point of making it the source of an artistic-conceptual narrative, which became the basis of the eight-movement suite Magpie

Magpie is written for a vast jazz ensemble of 14 woodwinds and brass instruments, with the addition of a piano/double bass/drums trio and a vocal quartet including Jerrom herself. From Jerrom’s harmonies emanate a gentle light and a great deal of hope. Magpie is a cathartic approach imbued with beauty and a radiant outlook, where melancholy remains an anchor but never an overbearing attitude. The rich, complex writing knits beautiful phrases that interweave in a counterpoint that engages all sections of the orchestra, as well as the voices and soloists. We sail between sunny impressionism and high-class jazz, carried by a clear, precisely focused narrative vision. 

Touching discourse, seductive music, sometimes grandiose but never grandiloquent, high quality interpretations, this is an album you shouldn’t pass up without immersing yourself in. You’ll come away feeling cleansed, more receptive to the beauty and hope that exist all around us, despite life’s hard knocks. A magnificent lesson in resilience wrapped up in an emotionally authentic creation.

Her website doesn’t mention any upcoming concerts. That’s too bad. Any good jazz festival should include Magpie in its program. In any case, I’d certainly like to see and hear this Magpie here in Montreal! For those who may be reading this, take note…

Latest 360 Content

Rebecca Foon & Aliayta Foon-Dancoes – Reverie

Rebecca Foon & Aliayta Foon-Dancoes – Reverie

Misc – Beat Bouquet

Misc – Beat Bouquet

Heaven FM – A Surreal Broadcast from the Beyond

Heaven FM – A Surreal Broadcast from the Beyond

Guillaume Lefebvre – Au loin

Guillaume Lefebvre – Au loin

Angel Wang; Phoenix Orchestra – Phoenix Rising

Angel Wang; Phoenix Orchestra – Phoenix Rising

The Centre des Musiciens du Monde’s music Tree that brings people together

The Centre des Musiciens du Monde’s music Tree that brings people together

Festival des Saveurs | Carminda Mac Lorin, The Woman of Many Hats

Festival des Saveurs | Carminda Mac Lorin, The Woman of Many Hats

SAT X EAF | Amselysen and The Ideal Perfume of A Serial Killer

SAT X EAF | Amselysen and The Ideal Perfume of A Serial Killer

Festival Classica 2025 | Women’s Cellos

Festival Classica 2025 | Women’s Cellos

Nuits d’Afrique 2025: ALL About The Program

Nuits d’Afrique 2025: ALL About The Program

Festival Classica: An Ode to Hope with Elvira Misbakhova

Festival Classica: An Ode to Hope with Elvira Misbakhova

Festival des Saveurs | Aldo Guizmo Goes “Str8 Forward”

Festival des Saveurs | Aldo Guizmo Goes “Str8 Forward”

Deafhaven – Lonely People with Power

Deafhaven – Lonely People with Power

Transforming Hiroshima mon amour into contemporary opera: Christian Lapointe and Rosa Lind tell the story

Transforming Hiroshima mon amour into contemporary opera: Christian Lapointe and Rosa Lind tell the story

Sparks – MAD!

Sparks – MAD!

“Hiroshima, mon amour”: An Evening to Remember

“Hiroshima, mon amour”: An Evening to Remember

Peter Murphy – Silver Shade

Peter Murphy – Silver Shade

Ken Pomeroy – Cruel World

Ken Pomeroy – Cruel World

Art of the Line: Klangkarussell’s Euro Vision at SAT

Art of the Line: Klangkarussell’s Euro Vision at SAT

Festival des Saveurs | Closing With Reggae

Festival des Saveurs | Closing With Reggae

Centroamérica – a powerful docu-play about truth and connection in an age of distance and denial

Centroamérica – a powerful docu-play about truth and connection in an age of distance and denial

Lido Pimienta – La Belleza

Lido Pimienta – La Belleza

Tamir Barzilay – Phosphene Journal

Tamir Barzilay – Phosphene Journal

The best ‘’Candlelight concert‘’ ever.

The best ‘’Candlelight concert‘’ ever.

Subscribe to our newsletter