By Ed Enright | Published September 2025
Montreal native Steve Rosenbloom has been writing music since the mid-1980s and playing sax with local jazz groups since the early 1990s. San Francisco 1948 gives this licensed psychoanalyst and psychologist — who has penned pieces recorded by prominent Canadian jazz musicians — an outlet to feature his own compositions that blend classic and contemporary big band sensibilities in a nine-track program executed by a 17-piece orchestra of top-tier Montreal players. Five of Rosenbloom’s songs here were arranged by trombonist and bandmember Chris Smith and were originally performed by the McGill University Jazz Band. Four other selections, including the title track, are more recent works arranged for this album by tenor saxophonist Michael Johancsik.
Rosenbloom is a self-described fan of film noir, and the album’s title comes from his memory of a movie starring Dick Powell set in the Bay Area in the late 1940s. In addition to the title track, “Mosely” and “Asher’s Tune” adhere to the haunting, bluesy, balladic soundtrack style of that historic genre. Other tracks reflect various other styles within the jazz idiom. “Samba For Esther,” “Fiesta For Paquito” and “Mexican Holiday” are all uptempo Latin numbers the inject infectious excitement into the program. “Light And Easy” pays homage to the chill side of Count Basie, and “In A Boppish Sort of Way” swings with bebop urgency and angularity. The stirring “A Call From The Orient” suggests the Asian influence sometimes heard in the intriguing works of large-ensemble jazz visionaries like Duke Ellington.
Rosenbloom’s band of Montreal aces is killer. The finely textured saxophone section includes Jules Payette on lead alto and flute, Allison Burik on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, Rosenbloom himself on alto (as featured soloist on “Asher’s Song”) tenor saxophonists Johancsik and Alex Francoeur (who also double on clarinet) and baritone saxophonist/clarinetist Benjamin Deschamps. The band’s powerful trumpet section includes Lex French, Andy King, Benjamin Cordeau and Cameron Milligan, and the trombone section of Mathieu Van Vilet, Thomas Morelli-Bernard, Taylor Donaldson and Smith contributes tonal warmth and brassy punch. The versatile, highly respsonsive rhythm section consists of pianist Eric Harding, bassist Mike De Masi and drummer Jim Doxas. Strong solos keep bandmembers and listeners alike engaged across the entire program.
San Francisco 1948 is a testament to Rosenbloom’s commitment to sustaining and evolving the big band tradition while infusing it with contemporary freshness and thoughtful nuance. It embodies the grandeur, complexity and emotional depth that define the genre, with something for seasoned jazz aficionados and new audiences alike.
