Label: Elastic Recordings, 2022

Personnel - Bea Labikova: alto and soprano saxophone; Naomi McCarroll-Butler: clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone; Tom Fleming: guitar; Michael Davidson: vibraphone; Alex Fournier: double bass; Stefan Hegerat: drums.

Alex Fournier, a supple bassist and excellent composer from Ontario, Canada, leads his galvanizing sextet Triio in this impressive follow-up to their debut album released in 2019. The 5-track program of originals, whose sounds carve into your skin and mind with a complexity that feels human, not mechanical, comes filled with sly rhythms and distinguished avant-garde traits that don’t adhere to conventional patterns.

Vouching for a perfect balance between robustness and refinement, as well as empathic accompaniments with fine solos atop, the group first attacks with “An Intrepid Toad”, alluring us to its rhythm and calling our attention to a well-oiled improvisation with inside out distortions by guitarist Tom Fleming. He’s followed by altoist Naomi McCarroll-Butler, who expresses her thoughts over a less dense substratum.

Being as much pointed as it is charming, the title track, “Six-ish Plateaus”, starts off with a free posture in a funny conversational mode, but reveals a shapeshifting character over the course of its eight-and-a-half minutes. It gains an identifiable configuration before the minute two, alternating patterned odd-metered cycles with a rock-infused 4/4 drive. The energy is cut back for a moment, claiming repose with a passage delimited by vibraphone, guitar and bass. The final section has Fournier and drummer Stefan Hegerat engaging in a dazzlingly crisp rhythmic drive with reedists Bea Labikova and McCarroll-Butler whirling in parallel motion.

Also with considerable twists along its structure, the funnily titled “Saltlick City” documents labyrinthine paths while displaying fair amounts of melody, ostinatos, and imaginative rhythms. Gutsy drumming with nice beat displacements during an odd-metered cycle; bowed bass and the horns in close proximity, triggering multi-rhythmic responses from vibraphone and drums; intoxicating solos from alto sax and bass clarinet - all take part in the mercurial temperament of the piece.

Fournier’s music can bend and bruise but can also meditate and sooth. Examples are the unhurried “Aneda/Agenda”, whose relentless curvatures and sharp corners feel like a crossing between Bobby Hutcherson and Sam Rivers; and “Tragic Leisure”, which indulges in a lethargic abstraction. Both these pieces radiate energy in their last segments with just enough of a crisp edge, especially the latter, which swings and rocks simultaneously.

Profuse in ideas, these compositions are strong enough to stand up proudly in the modern jazz sphere. Fournier and his group rightfully deserve acclaim as their sound evolve significantly.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - An Intrepid Toad ► 02 - Six-ish Plateaus ► 05 - Saltlick City

Label: Self produced, 2019

Personnel – Bea Labikova: alto saxophone, flute; Aidan Sibley: trombone; Ashley Urquhart: piano; Tom Fleming: guitar; Alex Fournier: bass; Mark Ballyk: drums.

Despite the misleading name, Triio is not a trio. It’s a Toronto-based sextet launched in 2012, the longest-running project from bassist Alex Fournier. Their self-titled debut album includes a set of shape-shifting compositions packed with rigorous compositional detail and free improvisation.

“ESD” plays a role model by showing how the group is deeply informed by the dynamics and flexible interplay of the 21st-century jazz. Besides the inevitable unprepared side inherent to jazz, their modern creative aesthetic pronounces fondness for through-composed, long-form music. This opening tune starts by engulfing the listener in its abstract solo piano vortex, probing densities and intensities before hitting the asymmetric groove that, also tracked by the bassist, sustains the theme. Prepare yourself for sax-piano unisons with occasional trombone countermelodies in the background. Before the reinstatement of the theme, drummer Mark Ballyk amplifying chops, having electronic sounds hovering over his head, while Bea Labikova’s alto sax wanders with a casual, free posture.

Bass, percussion, and prepared piano introduce “Giant Dad” in an enigmatic way, but the group unlocks a cool swing to welcome a parallel speech from flute and trombone. As trombonist Aidan Sibley detaches himself to establish an impromptu communication with guitarist Tom Fleming, a form of polyphony materializes. Still, the next phase was not destined to be melodically intense but rather rhythmically daring with a passage for prepared piano and flute. Everything is ‘melodified’ for the finale.

The impetuous “Fourhundred Dollars” assumes the shape of a chugging steam train but still tolerates a calmer passage marked by liquid guitar textures. Nonetheless, the tension gallops dauntlessly through the flurries and pointillism delivered by pianist Ashley Urquhart along with the eruptive shriek of ecstasy and raw excitement of the saxophone cries. The music gets turbulent across the board before concluding with a busy yet controlled pace. Conveying a similar mood, “Noisemaker” feels a continuation of the latter piece, extending beyond 17 minutes and sporting instrumental metamorphoses with rhythmic multiplicities and avant-jazz sensibility. What will you find here? A jazzy trombone solo over an odd-metered swinging pulse, hushed moments with bowed bass and disciplined floating guitar, pondered unisons as integral elements of a processional episode, piano rumination with variety in sound, and a final written section stamped by a guitar ostinato and topped by involving lines.

The force of this sextet derives from the personal sounds of its members and the concluding composition, “Permanently Hiccups”, shows exactly that. Polyrhythmic layers pile up resolutely, building emotional resonance. The texture may feel a bit brooding at times, but the group canalizes the final section into a hypnotic tapestry rich in unisons and counterlines.

Fournier and his Triio group reveal a breathtaking command of tempo and structure as well as a modern flair for texture. This is an ambitious effort that will help them carve out a distinct space for themselves.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - ESD ► 02 - Giant Dad ► 03 - Fourhundred Dollars