Jazz and Improvised

Quinsin Nachoff: Patterns from Nature - Quinsin Nachoff; Matt Mitchell; Ryan Keberle; François Houle; Satoshi Takeishi; Carlo De Rosa; Molinari String Quartet

Quinsin Nachoff – Patterns from Nature
Quinsin Nachoff; Matt Mitchell; Ryan Keberle; François Houle; Satoshi Takeishi; Carlo De Rosa; Molinari String Quartet
Whirlwind Recordings (quinsin.com/patterns-from-nature)

Toronto born, Brooklyn-based saxophonist and composer Quinsin Nachoff brings us another momentous work in the form of Patterns from Nature, a full-scale 45-minute work that celebrates the convergence of music, film, and art with scientific research into pattern formation without merely mimicking it. So many elements have convened to create this work that it’s a wonder it could be contained to 45 minutes. Is it a chamber suite? A symphonic work, a film and full score, multimedia presentation, a narrative on the interrelationship of science, art, and the natural environment? It is all of these. As the composer explains: “I composed the music in parallel with filmmakers Tina de Groot, Lee Hutzulak, Gita Blak, and Udo Prinsen, allowing sound and image to evolve together in response to those natural forces. We are not illustrating the science, but working with it as a foundation, something to be interpreted, reshaped, and carried through the form and motion of the piece.”

Drawing on the research of longtime collaborator (and University of Toronto Professor Emeritus) Physicist Stephen Morris’ work in emergent patterns in nature, Nachoff teamed up with the four filmmakers to integrate music, film and science, a project taking ten years to realize. The composition includes seamless marriages between notation and improvisation, highlighting improvising soloists for each movement: titled Branches, Flow, Cracks and Ripples they feature Nachoff himself, pianist Matt Mitchel, trombonist Ryan Keberle, clarinetist François Houle, percussionist Satoshi Takeishi and bassist Carlo De Rosa, with underpinnings from the Molinari String Quartet and direction from JC Sanford. Each movement entwines the explorations of the informing elements, and the ensemble moves effortlessly through melodic and textural elements of contemporary dialects with infusions of urban jazz keeping the human element present. The attention to detail creates a magnificent work.

It was an interesting experience to view snippets of the films and photos available online after hearing the album; the added dimension creates a powerful multi-dimensional narration and it’s a shame they are not accessible with the album. One can only hope it is presented again in full soon.

The second work on the album features Nachoff’s three-movement saxophone concerto Winding Tessellations (2017); a seamless addition to the album and no less exquisite.

Listen to 'Quinsin Nachoff: Patterns from Nature' Now in the Listening Room

Le Bolduc Groove Quintet - Remi Bolduc

Le Bolduc Groove Quintet
Remi Bolduc
Independent (remibolduc.com/store)

Rémi Bolduc has long been recognized as one of Canada’s most expressive alto saxophonists and his latest album highlights his gift for balancing technical precision with an easygoing sense of swing. Built around a tight-knit ensemble, the record celebrates groove-driven jazz while leaving plenty of room for personality and improvisational spark. From the opening moments, the quintet establishes a rhythmic foundation that feels both sturdy and playful. Bolduc’s alto saxophone glides across the arrangements with clarity and warmth, delivering melodies that are memorable without sacrificing an exploratory spirit that defines modern jazz. His phrasing is crisp but relaxed, suggesting a musician deeply comfortable in his musical language.

The album’s strength lies in the chemistry between the players, featuring Canadian greats Chantel de Villiers on saxophone and vocals, Nick Semenykhin on guitar, Ira Coleman on double bass and Rich Irwin on the drums. The rhythm section locks in to keep the music moving forward, while piano and bass lines weave around Bolduc’s saxophone with ease. Rather than spotlighting a single voice, the quintet operates as a collective unit, allowing each instrument to contribute to the evolving texture. Groove is the central thread throughout the record. Whether leaning toward funk-inspired rhythms or classic post-bop momentum, the music maintains an inviting pulse that draws the listener in. Even during more intricate passages, the band never loses its sense of flow.

The record ultimately feels like a celebration of ensemble jazz at its most vibrant. Bolduc leads with confidence, but the real story is the shared energy of the group, creating music that is lively, polished, and unmistakably alive.

My World is the Sun - Dominique Fils-Aimé

My World is the Sun
Dominique Fils-Aimé
Ensoul Records (singwithmi.bandcamp.com/album/my-world-is-the-sun)

Captivating Montreal-based vocalist and composer, Dominique Fils-Aimé has already left her indelible mark on the international jazz world, having received two JUNO awards for “Vocal Jazz Album of the Year” as well as the 2024 FELIX Award for Best Album for her release, Run Deep. Her fifth studio release, My World is the Sun, features mainly her own distinctive compositions, as well as a deep dive into the marriage of blues, soul, jazz and other contemporary forms. Fils-Aime is well-known for her skill at lyrical interpretation, and regularly takes her audiences on surprising, moving and soulful journeys – and this recording is no exception. A sonic, sensory and emotional treat, rife with thought provoking lyrics as well as diverse musical motifs.

Fils-Aimé has assembled a fine musical coterie for this project, including producer/engineer Jacques Roy; Claudette Thomas on upright/electric bass; Jacques Roy on drums; Harvey Bien-Aimee on keyboards; David Osei Afrifa on piano; Hichem Khalifa on trumpet, Elli Miller Maboungou on percussion; Shawn Mativetsky on tabla; Etienne Miousse on guitar and Steeve St-Pierre on violin. The programme begins with Ma Melodie (Intro) written by Patricia Carli and Leo Missir. A simple and beautiful air, performed with a single, unapologetic guitar and Fils-Aimé’s warm, supple alto voice. A remarkable track is Sea of Clouds, where a mystical, chant-like melodic line, morphs into an esoteric journey, replete with gorgeously arranged, diatonic layers of vocals.

Also stunning is The River. Soulful and healing, Fils-Aimé’s powerful vocal performance and arrangement embraces the heart of African-American Gospel music (whose roots extend deeply into mother Africa). A true stand-out is the thoroughly delicious Going Home. Composed by Nans Clastrier and Fils-Aimé, this song features fine guitar work as well as compelling lyrics and an intoxicating mood.

Triago de Todo - Jay Danley

Triago de Todo
Jay Danley
Independent (jaydanley.bandcamp.com/album/traigo-de-todo)

Jay Danley’s latest release is an album that feels less like a carefully plotted statement and more like an open musical sketchbook where styles drift in and out with playful ease. Drawing on jazz phrasing, Latin rhythms and funk textures, Danley builds a record that thrives on motion and curiosity rather than strict genre loyalty. What makes Traigo de Todo especially engaging is its sense of warmth. Even in its more meandering turns, the music is thoroughly inviting, full of melodic details that reward close listening.

Soaring guitar lines intertwine with nimble percussion, while subtle keyboard colours expand the atmosphere without crowding it. There’s a relaxed confidence in the way the songs unfold, as though Danley trusts the listener to enjoy the journey rather than wait for a predictable destination. A great example of this can be heard in Coffee and Beignets, where the aforementioned elements combine into a satisfying whole. What also makes the album unique is its distinct hark back to ‘70s funk and soul sound, a noticeable element that carries through each tune.

There’s a pleasant near restlessness that is also part of the record’s charm. Traigo de Todo ultimately plays like a musical travelogue, inviting listeners to wander through shifting sonic landscapes guided by curiosity, groove and quiet imagination at every turn along the way forward and beyond expectation or convention altogether. A great choice for listeners looking for something fresh, playful and alive.

The Call - Bellbird

The Call
Bellbird
CST Records CST190 (bellbirdband.bandcamp.com/album/the-call)

Together since 2021, this Montréal-based quartet demonstrates tight-knit cooperative performances during this set of group compositions. With Allison Burik on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, Claire Devlin playing tenor saxophone, bassist Eli Davidovici and drummer Mili Hong, the four work through tunes that are rugged and expanded when they should be and compressed and exquisite elsewhere.

The last adjective is a bit of an overstatement since Bellbird, the band, eschews aviary delicacy and instead often replicates the tonal flexibility coupled with squawking stridency sometimes found in wild fowl. Although Davidovici’s downward slaps mostly regularize the program, Burik and Devlin layer the expositions with aleatory honks, snuffles and cheeps, offering obbligatos or harmonization with the other reed, whether it’s for sliding toughness on the title track or gentling melancholy expressed on Morning Dove. Hong too switches constructively from ruffs and rumbles that, alongside Davidovici’s strident arco string swabs, buffer a forceful tune like Blowing on Embers, or overcome reed dissonance with brush strokes that promote Phthalo Green’s gentle harmonies.

Overall, the quartet’s sound reaches its zenith on the extended Eternity Perspective. Contrapuntal as well as cooperative, snarly bass clarinet scoops paced by martial drum patterns centre the piece until one saxophone timbre floats over the other until following an interlude of reverberating double bass thumps, a false ending adumbrates a lush logical diminuendo.

Intertwined enough to suggest ESP, Bellbird is one aviary species that deserves watching and hearing.

Can You Hear the Birds? - Gentiane MG, Levi Dover; Mark Nelson

Can You Hear the Birds?
Gentiane MG, Levi Dover; Mark Nelson
Effendi FND 178 (gentianemg.com/music)

Can You Hear the Birds is Montreal-based pianist Gentiane MG’s fourth album as a leader and features an exciting set of original trio music. The album has a unique design aesthetic, which Gentiane and her team have made ample use of in its promotion, but the musical performance speaks for itself as well.

The trio features bassist Levi Dover and drummer Mark Nelson. They act as creative partners in this endeavour, while simultaneously laying down the accompaniment and groove listeners expect from a traditional piano trio format. The music pleasantly obscures what is improvised and what is composed, adding to the suite-like flow of the album’s programming. There are open and sparse moments throughout Can You Hear the Birds, alongside tightly arranged sections, notably intricate basslines doubled in the piano’s low register on tracks like Standing on a Cloud.

I try to avoid direct musical comparisons, for their tendency to cheapen a review, but an overarching sensibility present on this album is that of the finest European jazz. To me Quebec has always felt simultaneously more European, and more American, than other provinces in Canada. How does that relate to Can You Hear the Birds? There is both a stylishness, and an element of visceral grit present, that I don’t hear articulated on the average Canadian jazz album. In some ways this is inevitable, as Gentiane MG and her trio are in a league of their own far above “average.”

The Least Greatest Hits Vol.1 & 2 - Worst Pop Band Ever (Drew Birston; Adrean Farrugia; Chris Gale; Dafydd Hughes; LEO37; Tim Shia)

The Least Greatest Hits Vol.1 & 2
Worst Pop Band Ever (Drew Birston; Adrean Farrugia; Chris Gale; Dafydd Hughes; LEO37; Tim Shia)
Independent n/a (wpbe.bandcamp.com/album/the-least-greatest-hits-vol-1-2)

The somewhat whimsical name of this genre-bending jazz ensemble belies the clear excellence of the exceptional musicians and composers who founded the group more than two decades ago – and continue to record, write and tour throughout Canada, North America and the immediate world! With the release of their new two-volume collection, the group re-visits, explores and in some cases re-imagines 15 memorable compositions that have been a solid part of this popular group’s diverse repertoire. The majority of the compositions here were penned by the ensemble and are described as having influences that range from Wayne Shorter and J Dilla to Levon Helm.

This group dances on that fine line between improvisational jazz and indie pop, and is always full of surprises and fresh perspectives. The superb Toronto-based core ensemble includes upright and electric bassist Drew Birsten, pianist/keyboardist Adrean Farrugia, Chris Gale on tenor and baritone sax, Dafydd Hughes on synths and keyboards, turntable-est/vocalist LEO37 and drummer/percussionist/synthesist Tim Shia. The luminous guest artists on the project include vocalists Caity Gyorgy, Elizabeth Shepherd and Rhonda Stakich as well as trumpeter Rebecca Hennessy and soprano saxophonist Hsien Minyen.

Included in the wealth of fine material here are several standouts, including Shia’s Love is for Losers, which features a moving piano solo from Farrugia as well as a stunning tenor solo from Gale, enhanced by an ironic and groovy lyric rendered by Gyorgy. Vacation for the Emotionally Challenged is a funky, percussive dive propelled by Shia’s skilled percussion work, and the sumptuous blues Too Much News again highlights Farrugia’s gorgeous technique on Rhodes. Other gems include Year of the Tiger and Believe Beleft Below – all rendered with consummate musicianship, taste and even a bit of humour!