FFWD Weekly
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Music by John Reid Mature, contemporary, original, eclectic, electric jazz coming out of Calgary? Believe it! Terrain is the group's name and it is a quartet led by drummer Tyler Hornby and guitarist Ralph Buschmeyer. The group came about as a creative outlet for Hornby and Buschmeyer, who had played jazz standards together in one-night jazz gigs over the years. "I was playing with the Dino Martinis at the time and was looking for another group as well to push a different envelope," explains Hornby. "I wanted to push the limits technically and musically because I wasn't getting that so much with the Dinos. Just from a technical aspect – putting myself into the quartet situation – I really wanted to do that. Hornby had known Ralph for a little while when he approached him about putting together a contemporary jazz group that played orignal music. "I knew Ralph could write and do some arranging, and I had been writing for about a year and a half and had a few tunes that were looking for a home. That's how Terrain came about. We decided to go with a four-piece group and make it very much an electric jazz kind of thing." The group's self-titled CD comes across as a mature creation to which both Buschmeyer and Hornby contributed original compositions. "We collaborated on a few of the tunes on the CD and I find that those are actually probably the stronger tunes, the ones that are collaborated, more so than the ones he wrote or that I wrote." Hornby and Buschmeyer decided they desired a slicker, more produced concept than a live sound. "We wanted to put in some synth pads, and some extra guitars, and some extra percussion, just to fill it out, to make it more radio-friendly. There are certain tunes that sound very, very produced. There is a lot of intricate percussion stuff that I spent a fair amount of time doing." Writing is a high priority for the two. "I don't want to just kind of go along with the scene (and play standards), I want to add to the scene. I want to bring something new, and something that I can bring my stamp to along with Ralph's stamp. Not only put it on the city, but across Canada really. That was a huge priority. This has to be an original music kind of thing, because we want to set ourselves apart from a lot of the other jazz groups. "There are groups like Metalwood, for example, that was one group that I thought about. I have seen those guys perform and they are great. What makes it even more special is that it's all their own stuff, they write all their own tunes. To me that's very, very cool. That is adding to the scene. Not saying that playing standards is bad. After you do that long enough, you kinda want to have your own say in what is going on, and get your music out to people. The writing is very, very important to us." While Hornby has been a longtime member of the Dinos, he recently gave notice that he is leaving. He says the two big factors in the decision are his age – he’s quite a bit younger than some of the members – and the direction of the group. "I think I am at a different stage in my life where I do want to tour a lot more and try a bunch of new, different kinds of experiences while I'm not married or have a family. And just the direction of the group, where they're going. The band has done unbelievable things, it really has. That has been just such a great ride, and such a great time." The Dinos have played New York, jazz festivals across Canada, Los Angeles three times, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, San Diego, and Austin, Texas twice for the South By Southwest Festival. "It has been an unbelievable ride. For me, it was maybe time to move on to, just try some new challenges, I don't want to become too complacent all the time, I want to keep evolving. It has worked out great, but I think now is time to move on, and go on with Terrain." Covering New Ground is the title of their September 28 concert at Mount Royal College’s Leacock Theatre, and this refers to the fact that the group will feature new material that has not been played before, new material that they hope to record in future. For the admission price, patrons will also receive a copy of the CD as they leave the concert.

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