RANT’N’ROLL

The Canadian septet known as Ona Ensemble experiments, pushes boundaries, mixes-and-matches cultural borderlines on its unique Traces Of Brazil Voices Of Toronto (Duas Trompas Record Label). Ona is a two-year old chamber-jazz ensemble made up of musicians from the worlds of classical, world, and fusion where sax, flute, clarinet, bassoon, guitar, bass, and drums coalesce into a righteous whole on five tracks by guitarist Andre Valerio.

Three-fingered Belgian-born guitarist Django Reinhardt’s work with French violinist Stephane Grappelli in their groundbreaking Quintette du Hot Club de France fostered a new kind of jazz in the 1930s. Gypsy Jazz, as it’s called,

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