"As interesting and varied as this music is, the highpoint of the New Orchestra Records label so far is Animal Tales by the NOW Orchestra itself. Labrosses’s title piece makes fine use of the large ensemble’s potential for contrast, blurring composition and improvisational processes in a shifting terrain that can emphasize the sheer heft of the two trombones or the contrasting delicacy of a string section that includes two violins, two cellos and two basses. Tanguay’s “d’une mare à l’autre” is an affecting treatment of an anthem, first sung and then repeated and gradually expanded with growing intensity by the entire ensemble, including Coat Cooke’s powerful baritone saxophone. Clearly akin to Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, it’s a brilliant departure for the band. The other concerts represent a recent incarnation of the NOW, with the band reduced in scale with more emphasis on electronics. Chicago flutist Nicole Mitchell is an effective participant on two of Cooke’s compositions in which electronics fields can give way to free-bop anthems and propulsive backbeats. The third concert has Montreal saxophonist Jean Derome as guest on another Cooke piece. A hoe-down like figure leads to segments that suggest Ornette Coleman’s PrimeTime with sudden digressions into vocal undercurrents and squalling electric guitar in a thoroughly creative use of materials from jazz, rock and electronic music. As such, it’s emblematic of the Vancouver scene itself. Now nearly 20 years old, this most unconventional orchestra is sounding better than ever." - Alex Varty (Georgia Straight)"Founded in 1987 by saxophonist Coat Cooke, the Now Orchestra big band is arguably Canada's premier new music commissioning ensemble. Here they reach cross-continent to work with some core members of Montreal's Ambiances Magnetiques collective (Jean Derome, Diane Labrosse, Pierre Tanguay) as well as Ontario experimenter John Oswald and Chicago flute star Nicole Mitchell for pieces recorded at three concerts over as many years. It's great to hear the composers' ideas projected across a large ensemble on this wonderfully broad CD, as expansive as the country from which it hails." - Kurt Gottschalk (All About Jazz)