Tom Keenlyside - A Night at the Espresso (2022)

One of Canada's great jazz flute and saxophone legends, Tom Keenlyside has been a part of the BC music scene for over 50 years. Tom has lent his talents to numerous legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Mel Torme, as well as rock legends like Aerosmith and Van Halen.

This new release features new compositions from Tom and his longtime musical partner Miles Black, as well as a great selection of standards. The idea behind this new release was to pay tribute to the Espresso Coffee House, a major venue in Tom's musical upbringing in Vancouver. Even more importantly, the Espresso represented one of the places where artists would hang out in the early years as they grew up learning the art form. The ability to hang with your 'elders' and develop more knowledge of the craft, play with musicians better than you, and learn the 'art of the hang' are all parts of the jazz lexicon.

The album celebrates that tradition and allows this fantastic musician the opportunity to work with some of Canada's finest artists - all soloists in their own regard. Although the album is called 'A Night At The Espresso', this is a studio album recorded beautifully at Pineapple Sound. The albums pays tribute to many nights at the espresso, but gives listeners a fantastic studio album from a fantastic cast of musicians including Brad Turner, Melody Diachun, long-time collaborator Miles Black, and Bernie Arai.