Definition of Boombastic Jazz

On a pleasant Sunday evening, after grabbing a quick bite, I went to an early show at The Burdock. The two openers, Canadian musicians based out of New York, did a combined set including playing and singing backup on each others' songs. May Cheung leaned toward folk-pop with songs like Hushed Forest, 2 Little Birds, and Go By The Water. Kari van der Kloot added Jazz compositions including Hide and Seek and Caution. The audience responded a little more warmly to Cheung's music, only because Kloot's songs were more complex. I've noticed that most Jazz composers seem to have a pathological aversion to writing a straight-forward melody. It was a complementary and interesting set for me. They ended with a cover of Sheryl Crow's Strong Enough.

The mixing of musical genre continued with headliner Maya Killtron. I've heard Maya before, singing with The Big Sound and Maylee Todd, and knew of her love of 90s R'n'B. But I didn't know she was also a violinist and composer. Tonight, she melded the two sides, enlisted the help of an all-women string quintet, and gave a varied set of "classical" R'n'B music, both covers and her own songs from her debut album Never Dance Alone. This 90s inspired release (Red Dress, Bad Decisions) had just come out on Friday. Unlike the typical swelling, lush but simple arrangements when strings are added as accompaniment to a pop song, when they are front and centre as the main band, the music was complex and layered. Killtron joined in on her violin now and then. But she mostly stuck to wowing the crowd with her big voice and range. She was also an engaging hostess with a natural banter that got several big laughs.