3rd Movement of Kanata Suite
Composed by: Brandon Goodwin
Key: G# minor
Time Signature: 4/4
Feel: Military March into Uptempo Swing

Soloists:
Julien Sandiford - Guitar
Masashi Usui - Tenor Saxophone
Brandon Goodwin - Drums

I began this composition while on a flight from Montreal to the west coast of Canada, and finished it while on the ferry going from Vancouver Island back to Vancouver. I actually had the title before I had the composition, which was strange but fitting seeing how I had the concept for the suite I wanted to write, including the titles, before some of the compositions had even been written.
The tune begins with Julien playing half note triplets into a short rhythm section vamp, which leads into the first part of the theme statement. This first part goes through the chord changes of the tune with guitar and saxophone laying down pads. From there Joe adds a repetitive descending line that is played at irregular intervals through another round of the chord changes. After that is one more statement of the theme with guitar and saxophone joining the piano and playing the descending line, sometimes in unison, and sometimes staggered.
For the improvisation section, Julien and Masashi again take strong solos before the climax of the suite, an epic open-ended drum solo that leads back into the statement of the theme.
From there Joe takes a beautiful piano as the third and final interlude.

The third movement, “Pipeline Blues”, is an introspective piece, it’s title meant to evoke thought about oil pipelines, our reliance on them, and their effect on the environment. The simple whole note melody is meant to give a meditative space to the listener, and the ascending nature of the whole notes is meant to give the listener hope.
Julien’s solo in this piece is almost a continuation from the previous solo guitar interlude. And Masashi’s lyricism gives an emotive build that skyrockets into an epic open drum solo by Brandon. Brandon’s drum solo speaks to the issue at hand, beginning in a thoughtful manner and then slowly building up until the emotion of the situation overwhelms him and he can do nothing else but roll and smash on the drums and cymbals.

Joe’s improvisation brilliantly moves from between the two pieces, creating blissful imagery and a sense of hope

The final interlude of the piece features Joe in what could be one of the shining moments of the entire record. His solo improvisation seizes the moment and instills a conclusion to the message of the suite. He then sets up the solution to the questions raised, which is always freedom, or in french “Liberté.