So Delighted
Release Date: October 9, 2026
Label: La Reserve
JUNO Award-winning guitarist and composer Jocelyn Gould honors the organ trio tradition with So Delighted. Arranging five original tunes and five standards for guitar, drums and Hammond B3, plus a few instrumental guests, Gould celebrates the legacy of her heroes with a lively gesture that brings listeners together across generations.
“Many of my favorite guitar players came up in organ bands throughout history, like Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, and Kenny Burrell,” says Gould. “They all played, at some point, in an organ trio, my favorite being Jimmy Smith’s band. So it feels like an important thing to do as a guitarist.”
Like the guitar masters who came before her, Gould is a storyteller. For the past decade, she’s been gaining international momentum and critical praise for her ability to develop narratives, live and in the studio, through technical facility and melodic finesse. As a composer, she creates personal responses to her influences, past and contemporary. Her music always serves the moment. “For this record, I wanted something cheerful, I suppose — something that would make people feel good,” she says. “I think we kind of need that these days.”
Bringing together a tight trio featuring Ben Paterson on organ and Fabio Ragnelli on drums, So Delighted documents a moment in Gould’s meteoric trajectory as poignant as it is inspired. “If I were to look back at my career later, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the peak right now,” says Gould, reflecting on her busy calendar and her recent collaborations. Album guests include Christine Jensen (saxophone), Jon Challoner (trumpet), and Americana legend Joey Landreth (guitar), artists whose music motivates Gould to push her own work in different directions.
“I’ve always wanted to collaborate with Christine, and this is the first time we’ve had the chance to work together,” says Gould. “Joey is another one. “He is really in the pedal world, solid body, those sounds. And he really helped introduce me to certain guitar communities. And Jon is just a wonderful trumpet player — it’s a heavy Canadian band [laughs].”
The album opens with a contradiction from Oscar Peterson. Nearly a rhythm changes tune but not, “Cakewalk” allows Gould to express her lyrical mastery over multiple choruses, while Paterson delivers a bouncing bebop-infused solo ahead of the drum trades. “It made sense to open with something super swinging,” says Gould. Invited by friend and fellow Canadian Celine Peterson, Gould performed at many centennial events she organized to celebrate her legendary father in 2025. “We’d say on the gigs, he must have had a sense of humor because he called this tune ‘Cakewalk’ but it’s really hard [laughs].”
Gould’s “Amethyst” serves as a feature for Challoner and shares her appreciation for straight feels on the organ. “I wrote this to be in that style,” she says. “And it’s kind of meant to be a groove type of tune.” Strange and beautiful, “June Moon” transmits another side of Gould’s composing. A lamenting saxophone introduces the mood, before the song moves through different emotional resonances. “All of Christine’s writing is so contemporary, so I was trying to write something with her in mind. And she knocked it out of the park.”
Though all the artists have played “The Song is You” more times than they can count, the band rehearsed it before hitting record. “Because of the hits [laughs],” says Gould. “You really have to be paying attention on this one.” And named for her cat, “Cleo’s Countdown” careens into the atmosphere with a tricky intro from Ragnelli. “That was Fabio’s idea,” says Gould. “It sort of throws you off because you don’t know where beat one is. And then we come in and it ends up being a minor blues.”
On “Girl Talk,” the artists land a laidback pocket on Neal Hefti’s ode to misogynists past. “The lyrics to the song are just hilariously sexist, so I just think it’s funny to play as a girl,” says Gould. Paterson’s solo curls into a textural growl with a strong nod to Erroll Garner’s signature laid-way-back block chords. But the artists deliver in solemnity and restraint on Gerald Wilson’s “Teri,” a song he wrote for the daughter he lost to cancer. “My playing is really simple,” says Gould. “To me, it sounds like a funeral and I wanted to honor that sound.”
Bold features for Landreth, “Grin Seeker” and “The Game Changer” close out the record with surprising effects and sections. On the former, he colors chords with a wah-wah pedal, and references a slide sound without using one. “He’s really known for his slide,” says Gould. First appearing on her 2020 release Elegant Traveler, “The Game Changer” receives new treatment from Gould, including an intro serving Americana roots traditions. “I had Joey and I had organ so I thought, it’s time to do a second pass at this.”
For Gould, So Delighted represents both a light-hearted gesture and a meaningful moment in her career so far. “These days I’m so busy, working so much — everything’s kind of going better than I ever could have hoped,” she says. “So I’m definitely in a pretty exciting place right now. And everyone I’ve talked to who’s a bit older is excited about where my career’s at right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if I look back on this time and think, those years were crazy.”