The Way Back Whens are a brand-new, old-fashioned traditional jazz band. Featuring a renewed collaboration between Dan Davis on clarinet and saxophone and Keith Rempel on sousaphone and bass, and joined by Edmonton’s finest old school players, The Way Back Whens will take you… well, way, way back! Their music is inspired by the work of Louis Armstrong, Bennie Goodman and Django Reinhardt. Dan and Keith are joined by Canada’s finest trombonist Audrey Ochoa, Canadian Grandmaster Fiddle champion Daniel Gervais, and Barbara Vargas on tap dance. Brett Hansen, Daniel Stadnicki and Eric Weiden bring their inimitable talents on Banjo, Drums and Trumpet to round out the group.

Jazz is at its best when it’s spontaneous, dangerous, electric, interactive, and live. The risk of a sour note, the opportunity for sublime connection – it’s what makes jazz a wonderfully vibrant music. This record features trad jazz and gospel tunes, surf rock, laid back funk, intricate four-part writing for the horn and violin section, and a beautiful ballad in the style of Ray Charles’ “Georgia On My Mind”. Audrey Ochoa and Dan Gervais deliver standout performances, while Dan Stadnicki and Barb Vargas entertain and amuse the audience with their antics on “I Got Rhythm”. Keith Rempel lays it down on the bass and sousaphone, and Dan Davis climbs the clarinet and saxophone with equal ease.

This debut album brings together a phenomenal cast of talent, but like any good jazz group, the value of the band far exceeds the sum of its parts. On a canvas of compositions that feel at once familiar and new, filling the spectrum from joy and whimsy to sassy and sultry, the band paints a sound so rich in color it can’t help but satisfy the ear and put a grin on the face. Add a dose of tap dancing and the tangible excitement of the audience, and we get a feel-good live energy the likes of which can’t be found on many albums these days. But then, they are called the Way Back Whens.