Quinsin Nachoff - Stars and Constellations

Label: Adhyaropa Records, 2023

Personnel - Quinsin Nachoff: tenor saxophone; Mark Helias: acoustic bass; Dan Weiss: drums + Bergamot Quartet and The Rhythm Method (#2).

Innovative Canadian saxophonist Quinsin Nachoff infuses his music with subtleties and complexities, providing a unique listening experience. His most recent CD, Stars and Constellations, delves into long forms and draws inspiration from mythology. Musically, the off-kilter successor to Ethereal Trio (Whirlwind Recordings, 2017) guarantees powerful orchestration that absorbs disparate elements from Coltrane and Bartók. Nachoff’s resourceful jazz trio, featuring Mark Helias on bass and Dan Weiss on drums, is strengthened by two New York-based string quartets (Bergamot and Rhythm Method) in a three-piece volume where they excel at sounding fully integrated.

“Stars and Constellations: Scorpio” opens the curtain to a fantastic sonic world with pizzicato strings, thoughtful soft drumming, and combined arco work from bass and cello. Tapestries are reworked, altering intensities, and the ever-growing bass lines of Helias create monologues for certain periods. Fantastic harmonic progressions and mutating rhythms trigger a gorgeously extended saxophone improvisation in which Nachoff showcases his spontaneity, range, and systematic articulation. The finale generates cheerful movements by blending modern classical dynamics with adventurous post-bop, making it the most jazz-oriented piece of the three.

“Stars and Constellations: Sagittarius” embarks on a journey with intriguing ascending glissandi, part of the instrumental mosaics and experimental observations that constitute the whole. This progressive 20-minute crusade was inspired by the mapping procedures of physicist Stephen Morris from the University of Toronto and is sculpted with elegance, discipline, and ambition. Nachoff hits the high registers with force during a revolutionary section prone to improvisation, while Helias plunges into a more pensive state. Weiss’ rhythm flows transition from understated accompaniment to a salient and elaborated solo. The piece finishes with melodic conjoint actions.

Bridging these pieces is “Pendulum”, a tasteful chamber abstraction comprised of spiraling melodies and evincing a high degree of responsiveness and calibration. Although featuring the two aforementioned string quartets engaging with each other, it’s Weiss who stands out by enlivening the rhythmic foundation with cleverness, while the coordination and teamwork between tenor sax and strings takes the form of a conclusive call-and-response.

Finding an exceptional connection between improvisation and notated music, Nachoff continues to forge a path of his own, moving in a revelatory line of action that separates him from other creatives.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Stars and Constellations: Scorpio ► 02 - Pendulum

Quinsin Nachoff - Pivotal Arc

Label: Whirlwind Recordings, 2020

Personnel includes: JC Stanford: conduction; Quinsin Nachoff: saxophone, composition; Nathalie Bonin: violin/soloist; Michael Davidson: vibraphone; Mark Helias: double bass; Satoshi Takeishi: drums, percussion; and more + Molinari String Quartet.

Toronto-raised saxophonist/composer Quinsin Nachoff’s new album, Pivotal Arc, is a modern chamber opus with three distinct long-form parts. The record, offering more than 75 minutes of music conducted by JC Sanford, consists in a Violin Concerto presented with the classically-trained violinist Nathalie Bonin as a featured soloist, a String Quartet work, and a large ensemble piece enhanced by the great rhythm section of bassist Mark Helias and drummer Satoshi Takeishi.

Carrying a contemporary feel and the influence of composers such as Bartok, Stravinsky and Ligeti, the three-movement Violin Concerto mixes cerebral written parts with the freedom of improvisation. According to Nachoff, “Movement I” is a ‘deconstructed, transfigured tango’. Its orchestration includes plucking-against-bowing string techniques in fluid motion, knitwork from Takeishi (his brushing is utterly captivating), Bonin’s deft improvisation on top of the colorful harmonic tapestry weaved by vibraphonist Michael Davidson, and interlocking combinations that showcase the sharp, intricate sonic world created for these musicians’ interplay. 

The busier, Balkan-influenced “Movement III” is set in motion with a swaggering pace, suggesting that one may find moments of revelation and mystery ahead. Dabbling in chromaticism, Helias delivers an expedite bass solo that gets prompt and clever responses from Takeishi. And then it’s Davidson who entangles us in enchanting articulations.

The next four pieces are non-improvised chamber odysseys for string quartet that still exhibits a strong sense of openness. The Molinari String Quartet is enlisted for the task, driving their glissandi and segmental fixations in a permanent sonic lane marked by steady tonal colors and more-curvaceous-than-angular forms. 

This is a work that requires patience from the listeners, requiring them to be in the mood to fully appreciate what’s going on. After the wide recognition obtained with the colossal Path of Totality in 2018, an album of reference in today's jazz, it’s interesting to see Nachoff working with new languages as he sharpens compositional and arranging skills. We have to wait until the last piece - the title track was written in response to the climate change - to hear the saxophonist in real action. He does it beautifully, even if the unorthodoxy of the percussive flow doesn’t really infuse extra enthusiasm.

Ambitious in its conception, Pivotal Arc is no ordinary record. Chewing up all its episodes at once is strenuous, but this music manages to carve out a space for itself.

Grade B-

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Movement I ► 03 - Movement III ► 08 - Pivotal Arc

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Quinsin Nachoff - Flux

Quinsin Nachoff: tenor saxophone; David Binney: alto saxophone; Matt Mitchell: piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, keys; Kenny Wollensen: drums, percussion.

Toronto-born tenor saxophonist Quinsin Nachoff assembles a bass-less quartet of unquestionable quality to put together six brilliantly structured compositions that are translated into a burbly new jazz. “Flux” marks his debut on Mythology Records, the label owned by the alto saxophonist David Binney, who forms here a respected frontline together with bandleader. 
The take-off was made with “Tightrope”, a forward-thinking piece that bounces with beautiful counterpoints and crisp unisons. Mitchell’s harmonies put together dark and crystalline tones that pulse confidently in conjunction with Wollesen’s prosperous drumming. Nachoff’s improvisation is provocative enough to stir surprise while Binney’s well-cooked approach fights fire with the fire. After Mitchell’s outstanding solo the tune advances for a swaggering collective trip. 
“Complementary Opposites”, fueled by Binney’s rapid runs on a first occasion, makes an unexpected incursion into reggae during the final part of Nachoff’s improv.
“Mind’s Ear”, split into two parts, is particularly interesting in the last one, where the freewheeling piano cadences drawn by Mitchell are accompanied by the tribal drumbeats of Wollesen. Nachoff shows the potency of his blows with a volcanic improvisation. 
“Astral Echo Poem”, influenced by the Brazilian Hermeto Pacoal, was executed with gorgeous intonations and flows with certainty.
The album finishes with “Tilted”, a composition that returns to the same impetuosity of “Tightrope” and boasts another breathtaking escapade by Binney. The control is only reestablished with Mitchell’s clear-minded interventions.
Marked by an impenetrable unity, “Flux” overflows with great resourcefulness, becoming a distinct echo of modernity and inspiration.

Favorite Tracks:
01 – Tightrope ► 04 – Mind’s Ear I ► 06 – Tilted