Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra & Sean Irvine, Forgotten Stories Suite Review

by Icrom Bigrad

Forgotten Stories Suite, the ninth release from the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, is a concept-driven large ensemble work composed by multi-instrumentalist Sean Irvine. Featuring vocalist Karly Epp and spoken word artist Quinn Greene.  The album brings together big band writing, poetry, and narrative design to explore a series of interconnected personal stories. Rather than presenting these elements as separate layers, the project integrates them into a unified suite framework, where voice, text, and ensemble function as interdependent components.

Forgotten Stories Suite makes its structural intent clear as a continuous, movement-based work whose meaning unfolds through sequence. The album behaves as a unified narrative system, where spoken word, ensemble writing, and temporal flow are coordinated toward a single arc. Heard in full, it resembles a gallery of experiences with each section gaining meaning through placement.

The opening “Forgotten Stories” functions as a threshold rather than a full statement. Its orchestration withholds harmonic resolution, focusing instead on tone and blend. Woodwinds and rhythm section move in close interaction, while the brass add fullness without overtaking the texture. The piece does not present a central melody; instead, it creates an entry point that prepares the listener for a sequence rather than a standalone composition.

That approach is fully established in “Prologue: Studies in Shapes of Palo Santo.” Spoken word shapes the pacing, with the ensemble entering gradually around it. The rhythm section grounds the feel while woodwinds and muted brass extend the tonal color introduced in the opening track. The piece develops through layered entrances and controlled increases in intensity, followed by quieter passages. Larry Roy’s nylon-string guitar solo moves forward within the texture without interrupting the pacing, maintaining the continuity established at the start of the suite.

The shorter pieces—“2 Brothers,” “Longing for Texas,” “A King and His Castle,” and “May He Rest”—function as transitions between the longer movements. “2 Brothers” presents brief motivic fragments and spoken text, with brass creating short pulses of tension and release underneath. The piece ends without resolution, directing the listener immediately into “Movement I: Nightmare.”

“Movement I: Nightmare” introduces a sharper and more unstable environment. The groove, driven by Fabio Ragnelli’s drums and Karl Kohut’s electric bass, establishes a straight-eight feel with a contemporary edge, while Will Bonness’ Rhodes adds a distinct timbral layer. The form develops through shifts between ensemble passages and solo sections. Niall Cade’s tenor solo begins with fluid lines and moves into more forceful expression, eventually narrowing into a duet with Ragnelli that changes the texture. After this, the full ensemble returns with contrapuntal writing before the movement resolves back to its main material. The structure maintains tension through these successive changes in density and interaction.

“Longing for Texas” reduces the ensemble weight, favoring open harmony and lyrical phrasing. The spoken text—“My story dances in a line of moments,” “spending a lifetime searching for what others have found”—anchors the piece as a reflective transition. Its role is to shift both the harmonic space and emotional pacing before the next extended movement.

“Movement II: Texas” is the longest and most developed section of the suite. It begins with subdued chords and light rhythmic figures before gradually expanding. Karly Epp’s vocal enters with a clearly defined melody, and the ensemble builds around her in stages—woodwinds first, then muted brass, followed by fuller ensemble support. A shifting Rhodes figure introduces Epp’s scat solo, which develops step by step into sustained notes supported by the ensemble.

The texture then reduces: Bonness moves to piano, creating a lighter, more open space. From this, Sean Irvine’s alto solo emerges, and the ensemble gradually layers back in. Epp returns to complete the movement, bringing together its earlier elements. The structure is defined by these shifts between full ensemble, reduced texture, and solo development.

“A King and His Castle” acts as a brief transition, presenting short gestures that suggest contrast without full development. This leads directly into “Movement III: A Perfect Castle,” where the ensemble is organized through layered voicings and balanced sections. A central melodic idea moves across the orchestra, while harmonic shifts prevent the texture from settling into stability. Epp’s wordless vocals function as an additional layer within the ensemble rather than a separate lead voice. Brass solos—particularly flugelhorn and trumpet—emerge from within the ensemble texture and return to it, maintaining continuity.

“May He Rest” provides a pause before the final movement. Woodwinds carry the primary texture, and the harmonic motion slows significantly. Greene’s spoken delivery is central here, including the line “the part that made me different is the part that made me profound.” The piece functions as a moment of reduced activity before the suite’s final section.

The concluding “Movement IV: Harold” brings together the elements heard throughout the album. Metric shifts between 4/4 and 6/4 create continuous forward motion. Epp’s vocal lines, Kohut’s upright bass solo, and Irvine’s soprano saxophone solo all emerge within a shared ensemble framework rather than as isolated features. The movement alternates between full ensemble passages and more open sections, allowing multiple voices to appear and recede. Instead of closing the suite with a single final statement, it gathers these elements and allows them to coexist in the final stretch.

What distinguishes Forgotten Stories Suite is how consistently it returns to this pattern: short interludes redirecting the listener, spoken word introducing or framing sections, and extended movements carrying the primary development. The album’s pacing is shaped through shifts in ensemble density, transitions between groove-based and open sections, and the placement of solo voices within the larger texture.

As a complete work, Forgotten Stories Suite relies on continuity rather than separation. Each section is defined not only by its internal material, but by how it leads into the next. The result is an album that unfolds through sequence, where its full impact emerges over time rather than within individual tracks.