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# Aretha Tillotson: Introducing
- URL: https://www.rhythmchanges.ca/aretha-tillotson-introducing/
- Published: 2023-12-12T04:29:00.000Z
- Updated: 2024-04-04T00:34:36.000Z
- Description: Edmonton-trained bassist now out east but recording in her home city with all-Canadians
- Author: Will Chernoff
- Tags: Free Weekly

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Though she works on the east coast these days, bassist **Aretha Tillotson** put together an all-original set of contemporary Edmonton jazz for her first album, **Introducing Aretha Tillotson* –* released out of her home city via MacEwan University's Bent River Records in October.

The album has a healthy dose of bass soloing, including a leadoff position on track one, and Tillotson's solo on "Tesla" is especially fresh – like the piano opening on that track by Brendan McGrath, who finds a way to insert an intricate moment without being showy at all.

Across different melodies, Tillotson's band gives some airtime to all the pairings you could find. The tenor-guitar melodic combo is poised and gentle; the alto ends up leading some of the stronger arrangements. Piano and guitar fit underneath both saxes on "Versus", a tightly-arranged track with a twelve-tone compositional mood. Allison Au's solo on it brings a welcome helping of the blues; all the players know this material cold.

Other than "Versus", "Flare" is the other two-sax tune. Just when you settle into *Introducing*'s choreographed style, the ensemble throws you into more stormy waters – both in terms of improv and riffing.

"Next Time" is a saxophone and guitar quartet take, the only one with just four musicians. Jacob Do takes the tenor solo into Joe Henderson territory; Joel Jeschke gets his lone drum spotlight, if you don't count the hard-rocking playing on "Flare".

The last track is a bass and trombone duo with featured guest Audrey Ochoa, who only appears the one time on the record. It's a fun, engaging, and driving performance: sign me up for a full EP or album of just that, too.

As a grad student at the Berklee College of Music, Tillotson gave a 2021 presentation including multiple of these tunes and themes within them:

Tillotson's *Introducing* project is a thoughtful album with heft and might behind it from all the players, especially the bassist herself who sounds ready for anything and has embedded her personality in every track.

![Introducing cover](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/2b/152b7411-0202-45a2-9f09-f39a793683ef/content/images/2023/10/cover-2.jpg)

[**Listen now**](https://arethatillotson.bandcamp.com/album/introducing-aretha-tillotson?ref=rhythmchanges.ca)

***Introducing***: Backwards Crossovers; Tesla; Versus; Next Time; Push Start; Sphere; Flare; Eighth Street. (53:01)

Personnel:Aretha Tillotson on bass; Allison Au on alto sax; Jacob Do on tenor sax; Brett Hansen on guitar; Brendan McGrath on piano; Joel Jeschke on drums; Audrey Ochoa on trombone.