TCQ - The Path | Canadian jazz group

TCQ (The Cookers Quintet) is a Canadian jazz group, with a sound firmly rooted in the ‘60s hard bop movement.

The core members each bring their own unique qualities to the band’s sound. Saxophonist Ryan Oliver’s fat, full tenor tone might bring to mind heavyweight Dexter Gordon, but it’s blended with sophistication and subtlety. Oliver shares the front line with Tim Hamel, a trumpet player that can bring a hot, uptempo number to a boil and then carry a ballad with lyricism and beauty minutes later. The rock solid foundation of all of this is bassist Alex Coleman, who’s clearly grounded in the Ray Brown/Paul Chambers school of keeping the bass steady and swinging.

During the fall of 2021, while on tour in the west coast of Canada with Bernie Senensky (Piano), and Joe Poole (Drums), the group performed a brand new set of original compositions to live audiences which subsequently became the 8-track studio album, ‘The Path’. From Oliver’s opening blues, “Undisputed”, to Hamel’s Wayne Shorter-inspired album title track, the group has produced another exciting offering of original Canadian jazz steeped in the tradition. “With our fourth record we wanted to create something that maintained the group’s original voice and sensibilities while reflecting inspiration from some of our 60s jazz heros.” says Oliver.

Canadian jazz legend, Bernie Senensky has performed with the greats including Art Blakey and the Jazz messengers, Elvin Jones, and Pharoah Sanders. His deep harmonic sense and captivating improvisational style brought an edge to the record that could only be provided by a musician of Senensky‘s stature. With a degree in Jazz Performance under the guidance of Oscar Peterson, drummer Joe Poole has gradually gained an international reputation. His tasteful playing, sense of groove, and rhythmic fluidity have led him to accompany an impressive list of top musicians including Ernestine Anderson, Curtis Fuller, and Marcus Belgrave.

Born out of a weekly residency, TCQ cut their teeth on the classic, hard swinging music of Horace Silver, and Hank Mobley; it didn’t take long before they were writing tunes of their own. “We wanted to have tunes that would be swinging, straight ahead, and essentially, fun tunes with great rhythms and memorable melodies that even non-jazz lovers would be attracted to,” says Coleman.

TCQ has previously released 3 albums, Vol. 1 (2011), Vol. 2 (2015) featuring Leron Thomas and Dawn Pemberton, and Vol. 3 (2016) featuring NYC legend Johnny O’Neal on piano and vocals. Their sound pays homage to the jazz’s golden era while remaining unique and contemporary.