Ally Fiola & The Next Quest - Exit 10 [self-released]

Coming in from Canada only recently and scheduled for release on October 16th, 2k26 is "Exit 10", the new long- (or better: medium-) play outing by Annapolis Valley / Nova Scotia-based composer and saxophone player Ally Fiola. On her self-released album, a seven pieces and roughly 35 minutes spanning affair, Fiola links up with a plethora of artists from the Canadian Jazz and Traditional scene to celebrate the place she's moved back to after gentrification and the inevitable increasing cost of living had driven her out of Halifax after a decade of calling the city her home. Sonically, the journey starts at "English Mountain", a large scale Jazz piece with a soulful groove and a distinctly seductive late summer afternoon vibe as well as an extended and quite Funk-orientated keyboard solo part and directly corresponding strings followed by the slightly deeper and probably more traditional Jazz arrangement of "Cumberland" with its multilayered brass sections and, indeed, tap-dancing interlude whilst the "Valley Drive In" fully captures classic - and well... classy - Dancefloor Jazz grooves for an intro which dissolves into a rather extended and romantic breakdown before finding back into its original form and delivering a vibe all HipHop sample wizzards should be on the lookout for with the same advice also viable for the subsequent "Wolfville" whilst the closing cut "When Things End" features Jah'Mila on microphone duties who not only is responsible for the one singular vocal performance on "Exit 10" but also turns the deep vibe into a beautiful late night Soul closing for a grand finale which feels way bigger and way more internationally valid and valuable than one might expect when just focusing on its place of origin. If you're a dedicated Contemporary Jazz digger this one's for you.