Tunnel Six: "Lake Superior"

For todays post, we are going to feature Tunnel Six, and their superb new release "Lake Superior". Although not entirely Canadian, the group has three Canadian members which is good enough for us! Well, lets start off by introducing this "border crossing" jazz sextet. On the Canadian side, there's Ben Dietschi on the saxophones, Brian Seligman on the guitar, and Ronald Hynes on the bass. On the American side, there's Chad McCullough on the trumpet, Andrew Oliver on the piano, and Tyson Stubelek on the drums. This eclectic group of musicians all met at the Banff Centre For The Arts in 2009 where their chemistry was noted almost immediately. On a side note, for all of you rock fans out there, Brian Seligman is best known for his position as lead guitarist in the hit Canadian pop band, The Little Black Dress. Well, lets get into the album. "Lake Superior" features compositions by all six members in the band. The first song we're going to note is "Moving Day". The song begins with a beautiful chord progression by Oliver. The rest of the band joins in and the song beings to progress. Suddenly, a spectacular solo by Hynes. This is quickly followed by McCullough, who shows the listener how talented you really have to be to attend Banff's prestigious program. The piece begins to conclude with a slow building solo by Seligman, where the listener can make out assorted influences such as Kurt Rosenwinkel. As the melody comes back in, and the song begins to dwindle down to completion, out of nowhere, Stubelek comes in, showing off everything he learned while in Alberta. The next song we're going to note is "Lake Superior". It starts off beautifully with another short piano intro. Each member begins to join in, adding into a very relaxing mix of sounds. Oliver now comes in with a tasteful piano solo that creates a ton of interest in the listener. Following this is a change in the rhythm as Dietschi begins to improvise, adding an entirely knew light to the song. Unfortunately, because the band lives so far apart they we don't get to see them that often. Nevertheless, we are all going to have to live with only having "Lake Superior" (which is absolutely fantastic) for now. We can't wait to see what's next for these guys!Take a listen to some songs from their North American tour bellow!

Tunnel Six

Purchase "Like Superior"