Grand ambitions. We should all have them. It's particularly refreshing when young artists aim big.

Such is the case with Suddenly the Weather Changed, which joins three groups together on stage as an expanded ensemble. The goal: To interpret one another's work and create anew.

The match of Corbin Murdoch and the Nautical Miles, the Blue Island Trio, and Deadpan is rather unusual. None of the acts shares similar musical direction. They do share some members and personal histories, however.

"Many of us grew up togerher since elementary. Then there is the connection through VCC's music program and the whole East Van neighbourhood tie-in," says Murdoch.

In other words, a roots band, a jazz trio and an adventurous groove act can work together for the sake of a community. Particularly when the players have enjoyed a world-class education at home.

"With festivals like the Vancouver Folk Festival and International Jazz Festival, we've all been exposed to diverse collaborations that definitely opened my eyes to the potential."

Named with the intention of centring itself on the coast, the Nautical Miles is a twenty-something sextet that sets Murdoch's fine storytelling to trippy folk/roots arrangements. On its debut 'You and Your Landscapes,' songs such as "Marcos' Encounter with a Grizzly Bear" capture real-life experiences from hiking Kluane National Park, Yukon.

"There is on of the largest bear populations in the world there and we met this one character who had a particularly intense personal-meeting story."

This is writing that comes from the pen of someone who knows his craft. Murdoch studies creative writing at York University. He took a year off to develop the band, but plans to return in September.

"We're developing a strategy to figure out how to keep going; it's been such a great year for the band. We've got a Live at the Hive next Monday, a new recording starting and this show."

A bit of a culmination of everything the group has done over the year, the idea for tonight's show came from listening to Nautical Miles members Time Tweedale's Blue Island Trio and Tyson Naylor's Deadpan and considering how they could interpret Murdoch's text oriented tunes differently.

"It's so nice to have musicians that are able to abstract those words and make something that involves music ideas that aren't too literal, but retain these really nice abstract ideas."

In total, 10 musicians will appear. The pacing is to start with small sets and then grow into a full orchestra. This mimics the way the project developed.

"We started listening to each other's work last year and mapping out the small and meaningful thematic similarities and differences, and places where they transversed nicely."

Given a choice, I cenrtainly favour encounters with abstracted grizzly bears over the tooth-and-nail reality.

-The Province, June 2nd 2005