MARC JORDAN, Waiting for the Sun to Rise

Now that Leonard Cohen and Gordon Lightfoot are no longer with us, the unofficial mantle of Canadian poet laureate singer-songwriter transfers nicely now to famed Juno and Genie Award winner Marc Jordan, who boasts a decades long dual resume of solo albums (dating back to 1978) and hits and songs recorded by countless pop artists – including Rod Stewart (“Rhythm of My Heart”), Bonnie Raitt, Chicago, Kenny Loggins, Olivia Newton-John and Josh Groban.

Released on the heels of He Sang She Sang, a sparkling set of duets with his singer/songwriter wife Amy Sky, the lush, wondrously romantic, ballad-driven Waiting for the Sun to Rise is an epic expression of hard-won life reflections, inflected with both regret and cautious hope. Featuring two caressing orchestral pieces (the introductory “Last Buffalo,” with “Frontier” as an interlude) penned by producer Lou Pomanti, the collection of hipster, heartfelt and life affirming originals (“Coltrane Plays the Blues,” “Best Day of My Life,” “Waiting for the Sun to Rise”) and thoughtful, emotive twists on classics by Tear for Fears, Jimmy Webb and The Blue Nile offers an intimate showcase for Jordan’ passionate, deeply soulful voice and impeccable phrasing that falls between cool laid back swing jazz and tasteful mainstream pop.

By design, the heartfelt emotional centerpiece is “Rio Grande,” a sweeping anthem which artfully blends sociopolitical commentary about America’s loss of innocence (and “begging Mother Nature for one last chance”) with personal lovelorn yearning. It’s one of three tunes featuring trumpet great Randy Brecker, who, as Jordan writes in his liners, “took time out of his busy schedule to do what only he can do.” Though there’s always hints of optimism, Waiting for the Sun To Rise keeps us in a state of expectation for the end of some challenging rainy days and dashes of brighter daylight ahead.