Marshal Herridge
“A Day Too Late,” yet still beautiful.
Marshal Herridge is a critically renowned and award winning double-bassist from British Columbia. He’s been fortunate enough to perform and work with some of the leading musicians in North America - having spent considerable time in Toronto, Montreal, and New York City. As a student at Humber College, he won the Oscar Peterson award, and a full scholarship for even further education. If you don’t know who Oscar Peterson is, shame on you. He’s the greatest musician to come from Canada (sorry, Rush), and a pillar of the jazz world. Here’s our review of the beautiful track, “A Day too Late.”
Soft bossa vibes roll over you as the track starts with a nylon guitar and a subtle piano riff. Caity Gyorgy’s JUNO winning voice comes in in the lower register to set up the story, and handles phrasing with ease. Thankfully, the chord progression is unpredictable and Marshal and guitarist David Rourke move through the changes like a warm breeze. A beautiful flute solo comes in, played by Pierre Mendola, to perfectly compliment the song - and there’s nothing arrogant or pushy about its presentation. The next section (I think) is when Caity’s phrasing is at it’s finest - she really shines in the upper register. Pianist Sasha Olynyk lays down a solid take through the entire track - giving just enough color and interplay to add that extra color. On drums, Baptiste Lejeune’s tones and feel are perfect. The double kick pattern that is so synonymous with Samba is laid down right in the pocket, without a rush. Capping it all off is a lovely ending as they vamp out on an A flat 13 extension.
The form and interplay throughout the entire composition is exceptional. The melody is right in line with the genre, and, expansive upon it. Clearly, Mr. Herridge knows his way around jazz composition. Antônio Carlos Jobim would approve, it fits perfectly in the genre that he made so famous. The credit for the beautiful mix goes to Andre St-Denis. This is one of those tracks where we would love to know the mic choices, placements and studio used.
Ironically, sometimes the best songs are written on the worst guitars - and this one was written on a “crappy nylon guitar” at Marshal’s parents house. Hey, when inspiration strikes, don’t let it go to waste. He certainly didn’t with this one.
It’s easy to see why Marshall has over 25,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. His compositions and work spans a host of genre’s in jazz. Particular favorites of ours are “Small Hotel” (love the 3/4 breakdown, then the swing in 4/4), “Lee-Ann” (a beautiful ballad with a great bass solo) and “Reunion” (an up-tempo track that does a wonderful job of showing Marshal’s driving walk, as well as beautiful interplay between the guitar and piano). He’s earned a fan in us, we hope you’ll like him too. There’s not enough jazz in the world.