Label: Whirlwind Recordings, 2026
Personnel - JC Sanford: conduction; Quinsin Nachoff: tenor saxophone; Roberta Michel: flutes; Francis Houle: clarinet; Sara Schoenbeck: bassoon; Tony Kadleck: trumpet; John Clark: french horn; Ryan Keberle: trombone; Matt Mitchell: piano; Carlo De Rosa: bass; Satoshi Takeishi: drums; Aaron Edgcomb: percussion; Gene Hardy: musical saw (#2) + Molinari String Quartet.
Cerebral New York-based saxophonist and composer Quinsin Nachoff aims high in his latest outing, Patterns From Nature, a singular musical journey that combines jazz and classical music, film, and physics in collaboration with physicist Stephen Morris and four filmmakers. The project also functions as a live multimedia performance, featuring a superb ensemble with gifted soloists.
Composed with considerable risk and conducted by JC Sanford, the album begins with the four-movement, through-composed suite Patterns From Nature. Unfolding through a refined chamber process, the music features pianist Matt Mitchell on “I. Branches”, a cinematic, tense odyssey marked by chromatic shifts, long tones, and multiphonics over cascading piano. A natural grace emerges from the piece’s technically assured geometry, while percussionist Satoshi Takeishi stands out with a fluid brushes-on-snare technique. His icy cymbal scratches and tonally precise percussion also distinguish the second movement, “II. Flow”, whose contemporary classical feel is reinforced by the Molinari String Quartet’s lachrymose ostinatos and magnetic suspensions.
“III. Cracks”, launched by bassist Carlo de Rosa’s opening statement, unfolds within a controlled, slightly turbulent atmosphere, with creative clarinetist François Houle contributing winding phrases over porous, layered ensemble motions. The final movement, “IV. Ripples”, features Nachoff and trombonist Ryan Keberle alternating passages before merging their sounds in a climactic section, preceded by shifts in pace and texturally intriguing segments. The suite concludes with drones and reverberant percussion.
The three-part Winding Tessellations, a saxophone concerto composed in 2017, follows with polychromatic textures, blurring written and improvised elements within a complex structure. On “I. Winding Paths”, intricate ensemble ornamentation allows Nachoff’s horn to slip into a murky middle register, unfolding in a forward-driven improvisation with deep emotional resonance. Equally vibrant is “III. Tessellations”, an unbridled exploration featuring coiled tenor saxophone lines over a variety of moody tapestries.
Having reached an enviable level of musical maturity, Nachoff demonstrates every facet of his compositional voice. Patterns From Nature is blessed with expert playing, standing as a major addition to the composer’s distinctive oeuvre.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Patterns From Nature: I. Branches ► 03 - Patterns From Nature: III. Cracks ► 05 - Winding Tessellations: I. Winding Paths ► 07 - Winding Tessellations: III. Tessellations