Will Clements - COMPASS (2023)

Vocalist Will Clements explores the themes of love through a queer lens on his third album, COMPASS. Having spent significant time in Montreal, Paraguay, and Vancouver, Clements brings influences from these cities into a new collection of compositions and arrangements, ranging from traditional swing music to South American-inspired sounds.

The album's stories have the common thread of being lost and found over a decade of maturing into adulthood. Clements was mentored through the songwriting process by Juno-nominated bassist Jodi Proznick; his originals, which comprise the majority of the album, weave through many moods and contain surprises while keeping root in mainstream vocal jazz.

From its two lead singles – the optimistic standard "On a Clear Day" and a reworking of Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" – COMPASS presents Clements in collaboration with a diverse band of Canadian musicians. Clements, also an adept arranger, invites featured guests Allison Au on saxophone, Rachel Therrien on trumpet, and Atley King on vibraphone to unveil a cross-section of the country’s rising talents from the younger generation. The addition of guitarist Alvin Brendan, pianist Miles Black, and emerging drummer Todd Stewart from the Vancouver scene forms an ideal, inter-generational rhythm section.