Chicago Goes West ~ Chicago Goes West ~ Jazz ~ CD ~ New

Editorial Reviews

Chicago Goes West (CGW) is a collaboration between three young, exciting and extremely talented jazz musicians from across North America. Leader and award-winning drummer Karl Schwonik hails from rural Alberta, Canada, while experienced trumpeter and co-leader James Davis is from the cultural hub of Chicago. The CGW jazz trio, comprised of drums, trumpet and bass, was founded in 2008 by Karl Schwonik for one of his many North American touring projects. Upon meeting James Davis while teaching at a jazz camp in Connecticut, Schwonik was impressed with impeccable tone and facility on the trumpet and immediately invited him to join the CGW trio. In their travels through Canada and the US, CGW has performed at jazz clubs, festivals, universities, concert halls and performance spaces of all kinds. Their performances over the last year have been very well attended and given much critical acclaim. The trio has also given numerous clinics at elementary, junior high and high schools in their travels. The trio, although influenced by modern music, shows its strong ties to traditional jazz while at the same time bringing a fresh approach to this instrumentation. The group has a diverse repertoire including many intricate arrangements of jazz standards and a number of original compositions. Their self-titled debut album shows each musician as a composer, arranger and soloist. This set of high energy compositions are on the fringe of modern jazz but are strongly rooted in the tradition.