One of the nice touches on Ron Sexsmith’s Exit Strategy of the Soul was the addition of a Cuban jazz horn ensemble.

This might seem incongruous with Sexsmith’s usual style — he’s not exactly Buena Vista Social Club material — but it works surprisingly well.

These horn parts didn’t inform the writing of the album but were added to the recorded tracks later to flesh out the sound. Sometimes, when you have a classic three-minute pop singer-songwriter like Sexsmith, it takes just a dash of flavor to really elevate the material.

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