The Squid's Ear Magazine


Sick Boss (JP Carter/ Zubot / Lee / Schmidt / Meger / Gaucher): Businessless (Drip Audio)

A wild improvising band from Vancouver in their 3rd release of episodic compositions based around instrumental rock forms, six "sick" and wide-ranging pieces that blend rock, jazz, chamber music and inventive forms in magnificent way, from JP Carter on trumpet, Joshua Zubot on violin, Peggy Lee on cello, Cole Schmidt on guitar, James Meger on bass, synths and Dan Gaucher on drums.
 

Price: $14.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 2.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



JP Carter-trumpet

Joshua Zubot-violin

Peggy Lee-cello

Cole Schmidt-guitar

James Meger-bass, synths

Dan Gaucher-drums


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




Label: Drip Audio
Catalog ID: DA12188
Squidco Product Code: 34173

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2023
Country: Canada
Packaging: Cardstock Sleeve , sealed
Recorded at Thee Space Echo and at Afterlife Studio, in Vancouver, BC, Canada, on April 8th, 9th and 10th, and July 29th, 30th and 31st, 2021, By John Raham.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Sick Boss assembles some of Vancouver's finest improvising musicians under the bold leadership of guitarist and composer Cole Schmidt. The band's hefty, episodic compositions are mostly built upon sturdy instrumental rock foundations but will colourfully explode into detailed, vigorous arrangements. These expansive pieces inevitably unfurl into passages of improvisatory interplay, textural drift, and even diaphanous chamber-music-like junctures, revealing the vast and imaginative collective capacity of this brilliant group.

In 2017, the band released their self-titled debut album on Drip Audio. It was named among the top albums of 2017 in VancouverÕs The Georgia Straight and was warmly received in other media. The band performed in support of this record at festivals across Canada and Europe including Suoni Per Il Popolo (Montreal), JazzTopad (Poland), and the Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

Their forthcoming follow-up effort, Businessless, their first on vinyl, is in many ways more immediate and boisterous than its predecessor. It's also more strange and volatile. Opener "Useless Genius 1" announces the album with gnarly propulsion, only to drop down to a single sustained sine bleep some two minutes later. The tone dissolves into a slowly evolving, drumless swarm that balloons gradually, bursting into a frantic reprise of the track's opening. "When Buzzards Leave The Bones" takes an even less predictable route. Initially it spotlights the bowed strings of Josh Zubot, Peggy Lee and James Meger but things start to unravel as Schmidt lays down a loping groove. Zubot hacks away at his violin, strumming like an unplugged No Wave guitarist, ushering the piece toward a full-band climax. The violinist and Lee are the only ones to emerge from the wreckage and chatter amongst themselvesÑfirst cautiously, and later restlesslyÑas the track comes to a close.

These contrasting, but equally action-packed pieces provide a clear indication of the remaining music's trajectory. Even the relatively continuous path of their majestic jaimie branch tribute "Doctor Dawn" is subject to eccentric formal kinks amidst its elegiac swell. It's a record that teems with charisma and nervy energy, swerving impulsively between contrasting arrangements, musical styles and even methodology. Though wildly erratic in certain ways, each cut unleashes at least one big, downright singable melody, and this fact allows Sick Boss to bound across these seemingly vast sonic and aesthetic chasms without exhausting themselves or listeners.

Sick Boss encompasses a wealth of experience that spans many dimensions of VancouverÕs music scene from alternative pop to far-out experimentation. Appearing in their full line-up, the band performs the unique amalgam of composition and improvised music showcased here; in smaller or collaboration-oriented incarnations, the group primarily improvises. Sick Boss' constituent members have received or been nominated for prestigious awards while collaborating with the likes of Mary Margaret OÕHara, Destroyer, Dan Mangan, Gordon Grdina, Jesse Zubot, Marin Patenaude, Pugs & Crows, Dave Douglas, Sam Shalabi, Ingrid Jensen, Mats Gustafsson, Lisa Cay MillerÕs NOW Orchestra, Tony Wilson, Chad VanGaalen, and have many more."-Drip Audio


Artist Biographies

"JP Carter is a multiple Juno award-winning musician from Vancouver, Canada. Carter's singular approach to the trumpet and versatility as an improvisor and composer make him a vital contributor to the Vancouver music community. JP incorporates a variety of techniques into his trumpet playing, utilizing and experimenting with acoustic (traditional, extended) and electronic (effected, amplified) methods to create a wide spectrum of sound. Currently a member of several Vancouver-based groups, including Destroyer, Dan Mangan, Fond of Tigers, the Tony Wilson 6tet, Handmade Blade (with Peggy Lee & Aram Bajakian), Gordon Grdina's Haram, Michael Blake's Variety Hour, and the various New Orchestra Workshop ensembles. JP's main projects as a composer/performer continue to be Inhabitants, Aeroplane Trio, and Carsick. These three long-standing original projects have all released albums on Vancouver's Drip Audio label [dripaudio.com]. Most recently, JP has been working on a solo amplified trumpet project. He will be releasing a self-produced document of this solo work in 2017 entitled "Toy & Tool".

Awards & Achievements: Juno Award Winner (2012, Dan Mangan, Alternative Album of the Year); Juno Award Winner (2011, Fond of Tigers, Instrumental Album of the Year); Juno Award Nominee (2016, Destroyer, Alternative Album of the Year); Juno Award Nominee (2012, Destroyer, Alternative Album of the Year); Juno Award Nominee (2009, Inhabitants, Instrumental Album of the Year); Polaris Prize Short List (2011, Destroyer, "Kaputt"); Galaxie Rising Star Award (2005, Inhabitants, Vancouver Int'l Jazz Festival)

Education:

JP studied Jazz Performance with Kevin Dean and Andre White at McGill University in Montreal from 1993-96, and Jazz Trumpet with Alan Matheson at Vancouver Community College in 1992/93. As a teenager, JP studied privately for a brief time in 1990/91 with Vancouver-based trumpeter Bill Clark, while studying under David Proznick in the award-winning jazz program at Semiahmoo Secondary in Surrey, BC."

- Website (https://jpcarter.ca/bio/)
4/26/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Joshua Zubot is a musician who spent his younger years honing his skills in the West. Gaining ground internationally, Josh toured with the former Barrage group from 1997-2002.

Moving to Montreal in 2003, Josh finished his BFA in Electroacoustic Studies after 4 years. In 2005, he produced his first solo album, Crouched Head, on the Drip Audio Label.

He now freelances full-time as a violinist. Mainly, Josh is a performer/composer fusing many means of styles through his violin. These styles range from somewhere in the middle of jazz, free jazz, avant garde, contemporary classical, folk, improvisational, rock and electronic.

Since then he has developped through the avant-garde scene in Montreal producing his own albums: Subtle Lip Can, Mendham, and Land of Marigold.

Over the last decade, Josh has played with numerous different groups and individuals. Some collaborations were with Chad VanGaalen, Lori Freedman, Patrick Watson, William Parker, Pierre-Yves Martel, Michael Blake, Bernard Falaise, Rainer Wiens, Michel F Coté, Sam Shalabi, Miles Perkin, Myra Melford, Marshall Allen, Fred Frith, Matana Roberts, Jean Derome, Malcom Goldstein, Pierre Tanguay, Martha Wainwright, John Butcher, to name a few.

Josh performed in the Mozg Festival (Poland),International Festival de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville, Guelph Jazz Festival, X Avant New Music Festival L'Off Festival de Jazz de Montreal, Suoni Per Il Popolo, Sound Travels (Sound Art Festival in Toronto), Guelph Jazz Festival, Osheaga, Pop Montreal, NXNE, as well as numerous festival circuits in Europe."

-Joshua Zubot Website (http://www.joshzubot.ca/bio.html)
4/26/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Cellist, improviser, composer Peggy Lee was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. She studied classical cello, completing a bachelors degree in performance at the University of Toronto as a student of Vladimir Orloff and Denis Brott. She furthered her studies on the cello with lessons with Martha Gerschefski in Atlanta Georgia. In the fall of 1988 Peggy began a year residency with a string quartet at the Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta. It was here that she first became interested in collaborating with artists from different mediums and in veering away from the classical path. This led to a decision to move away from the known and thus to her relocating to Vancouver, B.C. where she now makes her home.

Peggy's first forays into improvisation in Vancouver happened with dancers at the EDAM (experimental dance and music) studio at the Western Front and eventually led to her meeting and joining guitarists Ron Samworth and Tony Wilson in their respective bands; as well as becoming a member of the New Orchestra Workshop, which went on to have interesting and fruitful collaborations with Butch Morris, Wadada Leo Smith, René Lussier, Barry Guy and George Lewis.

Peggy continues to collaborate frequently with Ron and Tony and with her husband, drummer Dylan van der Schyff, as well as with many other longtime musical associates including Dave Douglas, Wayne Horvitz, Robin Holcomb, Veda Hille and Lisa Miller. She also leads or co-leads a number of musical projects: The Peggy Lee Band, Film in Music, Waxwing (with Tony Wilson and Jon Bentley) and Beautiful Tool (with Mary Margaret O'Hara).

She has also collaborated extensively in theatre and dance with companies and artists such as Ruby Slippers, Rumble Theatre, Presentation House, David Hudgins, Peter Bingham and Delia Brett.

In 2005, Peggy received the Freddie Stone Award for integrity and innovation in music and in 2010 she was awarded a Jesse Richardson Theatre Award for outstanding composition."

-Peggy Lee Website (http://www.peggylee.net/about-peggy.html)
4/26/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Cole Schmidt, is an active participant in Vancouver's creative music scene. As a composer, Cole spends the majority of his time writing and recording with 2013 Juno Award winners Pugs and Crows and the newly formed group Sick Boss. He can also be heard alongside other local artists such as Debra-Jean Creelman, Copilots, Karen Foster and John Paton's Soft Morning City. In 2013, he received the Vancouver Mayor's Arts Award for Emerging Artist in Music. Cole has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe, including a 5 week tour with Drip Audio's DarkBlueWorld in Eastern Europe and Russia and participating in the Vilnius Jazz Festival."

-Pugs and Crows (http://pugsandcrows.com/about/)
4/26/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"James Meger was born and raised in Surrey, British Columbia. He began playing the electric bass in early high school and took up the double bass upon entering post-secondary. After a brief stint studying music and Capilano College in North Vancouver, James moved to Montreal where he earned his Bachelors in Jazz Studies from McGill University and studied with drummer/composer Chris McCann.

Despite working and studying primarily in the fields of jazz and improvised music, James' experience on the bass spans many different areas of music. In his late teens he was a member of the acclaimed Vancouver based indie-roots band, The Sumner Brothers, with which he recorded two studio albums over 3 years. Later he went on to tour Eastern Europe with art-rock band, Dark Blue World, as well as tour all over Canada with Vancouver folk act, The Fugitives.

While attending McGill University, James helped form the collective saxophone trio, Braveheart. They have toured several times around Canada and self-released one album of original music entitled Acoustic Music.

James currently resides in Vancouver, where he is an active member of many diverse groups including: The Bruno Hubert Trio, Squareheart, 4=4, O.A.B., Tom Wherrett Trio, Proud Animal, The Jaclyn Guillou Band and Cow Trance."

-Reach Out Psychosis (http://www.reachoutpsychosis.com/about-us-2/performers/good-bad-luck/james-meger/)
4/26/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Vancouver based drummer Dan Gaucher has been a member of the following projects:

The Abramson Singers 2008-present
The Buttless Chaps Drums 2007-present
The Crackling Drums 2005-present
The Crackling Drums 2005-present
Francois Houle Tentet drums
Tom Varner/Francois Houle Quartet drums
Melody Diachun EQ drums
The October Trio with Brad Turner drums
Anatma drums
Dan Gaucher Trio
Ribcage drums
Uncommon Gold drums
Stop Time drums
Fond Of Tigers drums
doppler (d)efect drums / electronics
Alita Dupray Quintet drums
Ian Cox Trio drums
Shift drums
Terra Grimard drums
Sketches
Sick Boss drums
The Bruce Freedman African Groove Band Drums 2007-The End
Rabnett 5 Drums 2002-The End
the october trio Drums
Bess Durey Quartet drums
Headwater (Guest) drums ?-2006

-Squidco 4/26/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Useless Genius 1 6:05

2. When The Buzzards Leave The Bones 5:04

3. Useless Genius 2 5:05

4. Doctor Dawn 7:14

5. Useless Genius 3 5:55

6. Cj Blues 7:55

Related Categories of Interest:


Rock and Related
Improvised Rock
Improvised Music
Sextet Recordings
Canadian Composition & Improvisation
Vancouver and Western Canada
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Experimental & Electronic Music
New in Improvised Music

Search for other titles on the label:
Drip Audio.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Sick Boss (JP Carter/ Zubot / Lee / Schmidt / Meger / Gaucher)
Businessless
(Drip Audio)
A wild improvising band from Vancouver in their 3rd release of episodic compositions based around instrumental rock forms, six "sick" and wide-ranging pieces that blend rock, jazz, chamber music and inventive forms in magnificent way, from JP Carter on trumpet, Joshua Zubot on violin, Peggy Lee on cello, Cole Schmidt on guitar, James Meger on bass, synths and Dan Gaucher on drums.
Zubot, Josh Strings
Strings
(Drip Audio)
The debut of Vancouver & Montreal violinist Joshua Zubot's string ensemble with fellow violinists Jesse Zubot & Meredith Bates, cellist Peggy Lee and acoustic bassist James Meger, performing ten Zubot compositions informed by his involvement in diverse musical styles, each allowing room for improvisation as he takes the string ensemble into unique and unorthodox territory.
Longhand (Tony Wilson / Peder Long) with special guests Jesse and Josh Zubot
Plays Long
(Drip Audio)
Vancouver mainstay, guitarist and composer Tony Wilson leads Longhnad, performing the energetically twising and turning, genre-spanning music of composer and saxophonist Peder Long, a mentor to Wilson while studying at Malaspina College, in a band with Vancouver collaborators Russell Sholberg (bass), Skey Brooks (drums), Jesse Zubot (violin) and Joshua Zubot (violin).
Zubot, Josh Strings
Strings
(Drip Audio)
The debut of Vancouver & Montreal violinist Joshua Zubot's string ensemble with fellow violinists Jesse Zubot & Meredith Bates, cellist Peggy Lee and acoustic bassist James Meger, performing ten Zubot compositions informed by his involvement in diverse musical styles, each allowing room for improvisation as he takes the string ensemble into unique and unorthodox territory.
Jones, Darius (Jones / Cleaver / Zubot / Lee / Meger)
fLuXkit Vancouver (Its Suite But Sacred) [VINYL + DOWNLOAD]
(Northern Spy)
Commissioned by the Vancouver artist-run center Western Front, NY saxophonist & composer Darius Jones developed this project during a succession of Western Front residencies between 2019 - 2022, culminating in this concert with fellow New Yorker, Gerald Cleaver (drums), and some of Canada's finest improvisers: Jesse Zubot (violin), Joshua Zubot (violin), Peggy Lee (cello) and James Meger (bass).
Longhand (Tony Wilson / Peder Long) with special guests Jesse and Josh Zubot
Plays Long
(Drip Audio)
Vancouver mainstay, guitarist and composer Tony Wilson leads Longhnad, performing the energetically twising and turning, genre-spanning music of composer and saxophonist Peder Long, a mentor to Wilson while studying at Malaspina College, in a band with Vancouver collaborators Russell Sholberg (bass), Skey Brooks (drums), Jesse Zubot (violin) and Joshua Zubot (violin).
Lee, Peggy Band
A Giviwayng Way
(Songlines)
Rich in lyrical playing and creative freedom, Vancouver cellist Peggy Lee's 6th album expands on her goal to explore different strategies for improvisation within composition, featuring the unique voices of her ensemble including Brad Turner (trumpet), Jon Bentley (sax), Jeremy Berkman (trombone), Ron Samworth & Tony Wilson (guitars), Andre Lachance (bass) and Dylan van der Schyff (drums).
Schoenbeck, Sara
Sara Schoenbeck
(Pyroclastic Records)
A document of bassoonist Sara Shoenbeck's collaborations recorded between 2019-2021 in recording studios across North America, showing the inspired curiosity she brings to improvisation through a diverse set of duos performed with Harris Eisenstadt, Nicole Mitchell, Nels Cline, Roscoe Mitchell, Matt Mitchell, Mark Dresser, Wayne Horvitz, Peggy Lee and Robin Holcomb.
Ensemble SuperMusique
Jeux De Pistes
(Ambiances Magnetiques)
Ensemble SuperMusique devotes itself to Montreal's "Musique Actuelle" and free improv community in assemblages of some of their finest players, here in a live concert in 2016 at Amphitheater du Gesu in Montreal with a stunning set of performers presenting the work of 4 composer.
Ratchet Orchestra
Coco Swirl
(Ambiances Magnetiques)
Active since the early 90's, the superb Montreal super-group Ratchet Orchestra under the direction of Nicolas Caloia with 19 performers presents 10 works including the title track, with soloists including Jean Rene, Lori Freedman, Jean Derome, Ellwood Epps, Sam Shalabi, Craig Petersen, Yves Charuest, Joshua Zubot, Scott Thomson, Isaiah Ceccarelli, &c.
Sick Boss (Schmidt / Meger / Peggy Lee / JP Carter / Naylor / Page)
Sick Boss
(Drip Audio)
A richly refined and sophisticated album drawing on improvisation, experimenation and rock elements from the collaborative Vancouver ensemble Sick Boss of core members guitarist Cole Schmidt, bassist James Meger and drummer Daniel Gaucher, with guests including guitarist Tony Wilson, cellist Peggy Lee, trumpeter JP Carter, synth player Tyson Naylor, &c. &c.
Samworth, Ron (Samworth / Adler / JP Carter / Naylor / Peggy Lee / James Meger)
Dogs Do Dream
(Drip Audio)
Presented at the Vancouver International Improvisation Festival and the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, guitarist Ron Samworth's conceptual work explores the life and dreams of a dog, with narration from Barbara Adler and an incredible ensemble including cellist Peggy, keyboardist Wayne Horvitz, trumpeter JP Carter, drummer Dylan van der Schyff, etc.
Honsinger, Tristan / Nicolas Calioa / Joshua Zubot
In The Sea
(Relative Pitch)
The transatlantic string trio of Amsterdam-based cellist Tristan Honsinger (also on voice) with Montreal free improvisers violinist Joshua Zubot and double bassist Nicolas Caloia in an album of informed improvisation that bring an upbeat approach to authoritative dialog which is both sharp-witted and irreverent, but never less than engaging.
Quartetski
Quartetski Does Bartok - Mikrokosmos, Sz 107
(Ambiances Magnetiques)
Composed between 1926 and 1939, "Mikrokosmos" was Bela Bartok's attempt to solve certain technical problems in the art of piano playing, here adapted by the 5-piece Quartetski into a fascinating series of progressive exercises and etudes, oddly enough presented without a piano.
Ensemble SuperMusique
Jeux De Pistes
(Ambiances Magnetiques)
Ensemble SuperMusique devotes itself to Montreal's "Musique Actuelle" and free improv community in assemblages of some of their finest players, here in a live concert in 2016 at Amphitheater du Gesu in Montreal with a stunning set of performers presenting the work of 4 composer.
Film In Music
Tell Tale
(Drip Audio)
Vancouver based cellist Peggy Lee leads the Film in Music project with a cast of superb improvisers including Dylan van der Schyff (drums), Torsten Muller (bass), Jesse Zubot (violin), &c, writing compositional drama for the 8 band members as as a basis for adventurous improv.
Fond of Tigers
Uninhabit
(Drip Audio)
The 4th album in 14 years from this instrumental Vancouver 7-piece avant rock band exploring both heavy and beautiful sonic environments; the band shares members with The Tony Wilson 6Tet, Dark Blue World, Aeroplane Trio, with Drip Audio leader Jesse Zubot on violin.
Wilson, Tony 6tet
A Day's Life
(Drip Audio)
The first recording of Tony Wilson's music inspired by the plight and lives of the homeless and drug addictied in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, in a band with P Carter on trumpet, Jesse Zubot on violin, Peggy Lee on cello, Russell Sholberg on bass and Skye Brooks on drums.
Land of Marigold (Joshua Zubot & Ellwood Epps)
Creosote
(Barnyard)
The Montreal duo of trumpeter Ellwood Epps and Josh Zubot on violin and low octave violin for 9 upbeat, technically superb and intricate instant improvisations, what they refer to as "foot-tapping for ghosts, seeing the northern lights from underwater".
Subtle Lip Can
Reflective Drime
(Drip Audio)
The 2nd release from the Montreal free improvising trio Joshua Zubot (violin), Bernard Falaise (guitar) and Isaiah Ceccarelli (drums/percussion) is a magnificent example of open-minded improvisation using unusual and sparkling approaches to sound and discourse.
Sands, The
Beast To Bone
(Self Released)
Singer/songwriter Julie McGeer leads a band of some of Western Canada's foremost players from the jazz and indie scene including Peggy Lee, JP Carter, Paul Rigby, Cole Schmidt, Darren Parris & Barry Mirochnik in an embraceable album combining jazz, indie pop and folk roots.
Quartetski Does Stravinsky
Le Sacre du printemps
(Ambiances Magnetiques)
Quartetski Does Stravinsky with drummer Isaiah Ceccarelli, guitarist Bernard Falaise, reedist Phillipe Lauzier, viole de gamaba player Pierre-Yves Martel and violinist Joshua Zubot reinterpret Stravinsky's Rite of Spring in honor of its 100th anniversary.
Epps, Ellwood / Joshua Zubot
Land of Marigold
(Bug Incision Records)
The debut recording from the duo of Montreal-based frequent collaborators, trumpeter Ellwood Epps and Joshua Zubot on violin and low octave violin, excellent extended dialog with elegant flair and great insight into each other's playing.
Lee Band, Peggy
Invitation
(Drip Audio)
The fifth album by composer and cellist Peggy Lee with her gifted band of Canadian musicians playing a range of creative arrangements varying from haunting melodies to energetic sonic voyages.
Ratchet Orchestra
Hemlock
(Drip Audio)
The Ratchet Orchestra is a large ensemble of 30 fringe musicians from Montreal headed by director Nicolas Caloia whose compositions allow for improvised chamber jazz and showcase the talents of the orchestra's most passionate players.
Hobson's Choice
Of The Waves
(Barnyard)
Canada's songwriting Hobson's Choice has developed into a tightly knit ensemble embracing elements of jazz, chamber, and singer-songwriter traditions, with sound-worlds ranging from midnight deep-woods marimba ballads to sunny cicada-sung anthems.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC