Time Warp Reviews

What the Critics Are Saying

“Is there a better band in this part of the world…? I doubt it.”
Geoff Chapman, The Toronto Star

“…currently the most potent band in Canada…”
James Hale, The Ottawa Citizen

“…Time Warp’s jazz is as rewarding as any you’ll hear in Canada and better than most of what you’ll hear anywhere…
Time Warp delivers a level of drama and energy most bands can’t match…”
Paul Wells, The Montreal Gazette

“…rambunctious and joyful…a rousing tour through jazz history.”
MacLean’s

“One of the great gifts of the writing…seems to be that the tunes can be complex without sounding complicated. Every tune makes sense and tells us something.”
Katie Malloch – CBC JazzBeat

“…maybe the moniker Time Warp was used to reflect the updated sound that this group brings to traditional forms.”
Edmonton Journal

“Unlike many contemporary bands, this one knows from what traditions its music has grown…the players know where the music’s been, and everyone benefits from that.”
The Record

CD Reviews

Warp IX
Time Warp
Cornerstone Records

Warp IX celebrates the twentieth birthday of Time Warp. The CD confirms their standing as one of Canada’s very best ensembles. Founding members Al Henderson and Barry Elmes have known each other since high school days in Galt (now Cambridge), Ontario during the mid-60’s, and then as students in York Universitu’s new jazz program. Inspired by Charles Mingus’ band, which was driven by the tightly coordinated rhythm section of Mingus in bass and Danny Richmond on drums, their new band eliminated comping instruments. Kevin Turcotte came on board in 1998. The young Kelly Jefferson, arriving by way og McGill’s jazz program and finishing school on the New York jazz scene, recently replaced tenor whiz Mike Murley. From what I heard during Time Warp’s gig at the Senator and this CD, Jefferson is up to the challenge of filling Murley’s shoes.

Time Warp‘s purposefully non-doctrinaire tastes run from swing through Ornette Coleman. Elmes’ distinctive drumming is linked to initial self-teaching by a left-hander that led to playing right-handed on a left-handed set of drums! He emphasizes the drums’ tonal qualities and imaginatively patterned, moderately paced pulses. Henderson often plays his bass like another horn. There’s a stimulating dose of Turcotte and Jefferson improvising against one another. All nine tracks are original compositions by ensemble members, Time Warp’s preferred practice. The knockout in a knockout album is Elmes’ brooding, funky Feelings in Exile.
Philip Ehrensaft
Whole Note Magazine
December 2002