Lina Allemano
Canons
CANADA LUMO RECORDS LM 2023-15 CD (2023)
Canadian trumpeter Lina Allemano is a 2025 German Jazz Prize nominee. The title of this disc makes me think of the endless chatroom debates about which films/books/comics/video games plot events are considered ‘canon’ in the Alien franchise timeline; somewhat of a rabbit hole I fell into during Covid Lockdown.
Four of the nine tracks are intriguingly titled with the word BLOOP added in parentheses. After looking at Allemano’s website for clues, disappointingly it appears BLOOP is nothing to do with the delightful Chase-Bliss Audio company and their wonderfully idiosyncratic effects pedals, but instead is her duo with live electronicist Mike Smith who I believe live-processes Allemano’s trumpet via his synths and effects. Their collaboration has already resulted in one album; Proof. So, what we have here appears to be a variety of solo, duo, trio and quartet pieces recorded at Union Sound Company in Toronto, apart from “Canon of Sorts” recorded at studioboerne45 in Berlin. Additionally, there are other pieces performed by groupings involving the musicians Peggy Lee and Brodie West, Rob Clutton, Ryan Driver and Tim Posgate, and Matthias Müller as well as a solo piece from Allemano.
This variety of groupings is intriguing; it certainly serves up tonal variation, but where it gains in grain, it lacks in coherency. It feels like Canons should have been a BLOOP album, rather than a compendium of tracks showcasing Allemano’s involvement. “Canon of Sorts”; a duo with trombonist Müller – of Bishop/Müller/Muche whose most recent release is 2022’s From A To B on Jazzwerkstatt – is the most interesting exploration on offer. It offers a peek into a new world, whereas the rest of the album, although competent and engaging, seems to be looking back over its shoulder at the history of the music when there’s still so much unexplored territory.