My review of Christine Jensen's career-defining a Habitat, today at All About Jazz.

It may have been the title of her last album—Treelines, Christine Jensen's first large ensemble recording—but there was no song of that name on the 2010 Justin Time release. Instead, it's the lead-off to Habitat, Jensen's second album with her Jazz Orchestra, a commissioned work for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Jazz Orchestra, its director, Dr. Paul Haar, looking for the Canadian saxophonist/composer to continue the strong work begun on Treelines. And why not? Treelines may have been the Montreal, Canada-based saxophonist's first large ensemble recording, but over the past 15 years she has gradually emerged as not just a saxophonist of note—her 2013 Festival International de Jazz de Montréal quintet set with sister/trumpeter Ingrid Jensen made that crystal clear—but a composer of increasing importance also, and not just on the Canadian scene. Jensen has, in relatively short order, evolved into a world class writer capable of going head-to-head with any large ensemble composer/bandleader on the scene today.

Bringing back a good percentage of the players on Treelines for Habitat's 17-20 piece orchestra, Jensen continues to pursue the longer-form, often episodic writing that defined the previous record while ensuring a bevy of impressive soloists to make equally clear that Montréal remains one of Canada's most creative jazz locales alongside Vancouver and Toronto. Some of the names are familiar to any who've been following the scene, like husband/saxophonist Joel Miller, who impressively shares the solo space with trombonist Jean-Nicolas Trottier on "Tumbledown," which begins with the sound of a lone clarinet, soon doubled by pianist John Roney (replacing Treelines' Steve Amirault). Sweeping contrapuntal lines define an introduction that leads to a chordal foundation reflective of the composition's inspiration—two tours in Haiti in 2007-08, prior to the tragic 2010 earthquake that decimated the small country—and a compositional complexity that mirrors what Jensen describes, in the liners, as "the beautiful and complicated city of Port-au-Prince." Beyond their own individual spots, Trottier and Miller ultimately solo in tandem, supported only by drummer Richard Irwin's combination of firm pulse and responsive support. It's just one of many compelling moments on Habitat.

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