‘RESPECTFULLY RAMBUNCTIOUS’
Calgary horn band Long Time No Time aims to capture live-show energy on new album
At the beginning of the new live album by Calgary horn band Long Time No Time, saxophonist Daniel Pelton encourages the audience to play along.
The first track of Big Time: Live at the National Music Centre is called Rules of Engagement, a 40-second snippet in which Pelton instructs the audience to be “respectfully and tastefully rambunctious.”
This may actually serve as a fairly apt description of Long Time No Time in general, a group of University of Calgary trained musicians who offer a rambunctious if tastefully put together set of jazz-tinged ska and horn-based compositions.
Despite the band’s focus on original material, Pelton said the fivepiece act was keen to release a live record after two studio albums.
“We realized we are such a live band and the energy that we get in the bars and concert halls and stuff is so different than the energy we get in the recording studios,” said Pelton. “So we thought it would be beneficial for us and the audience listening to our recordings if we could capture that live energy somehow.”
Long Time No Time, which also features bass trombonist Thomas Dundas, Andrew Leitch on trumpet, Fletcher Dahlman on drums and Jesse Schwarz on bass, have been playing around town since 2017. All met while studying music at U of C and most are former members of the university’s Jazz Orchestra. The sprawling record, which features two dozen original compositions, was captured last November at the National Music Centre. It also features more than 30 musicians, with the five-piece often backed by the Jazz Orchestra led by Jeremy Brown.
So songs were rearranged for a big-band format, none of which lessens the energy of the live set.
The tunes, which the members of Long Time No Time take turns singing, have names such as I Don’t
Have to go to School Tomorrow and Not Exactly an Overture, and feature both expert musical chops and an irreverent attitude that suggests the band doesn’t always take itself overly seriously.
Pelton, who is the band’s chief composer, says the attitude is borrowed from one of his musical heroes, Frank Zappa. The eccentric composer was Pelton’s first gateway to horn music.
“Musically, he is such an icon and an absolute role model in every sense of the word,” says Pelton. “His music is so interesting and thought-provoking and quite foolish at times as well, which is something I try to copy as well. He’s not afraid to sing about stupid things or have fun with what he’s doing while creating really intense and very difficult music.”
For now, the COVID -19 pandemic has put a bit of damper on the band’s momentum. Pelton has returned home to Vancouver for now and the future of the act is a bit up in the air. Still, he hopes to return.
“There is a lot of talent in the Calgary scene,” he says. “I don’t know if there are a lot of bands like us, doing what we’re doing. But we’d love to make space for that coming out of COVID-19.”
Big Time: Live at the National
Music Centre is now available on streaming services.