Swirl: Live At Piccolo
Effendi, 2023
8/10
Listen to Swirl: Live At Piccolo
The exceptional pianist Francois Bourassa has an impressive 11 albums to his credit, and this new live quartet listen brings André Leroux, Guy Boisvert and Guillaume Pilote to the 6 energetic and spontaneous tracks.
“Pooloop” gets the listen off to a lively start, where Pilote’s playful drumming and Bourassa’s warm keys meet at a very frisky intersection, and “Prologue” follows with Leroux’s atmospheric flute making for a very unique dreaminess that unfolds across 12+ minutes of rich textures.
The middle tracks belong to “Room 58” and “Costard”, where the former offers dizzying keys amid soulful sax from Leroux, while the latter uses distinctly plucked bass from Boisvert for the cinematic climate. The final track, “15, Notre-Dame-de-Lorette”, then emits intimate keys, meticulous bass, flowing brass and crisp drumming for a very striking and diverse exit of calm versus busy dynamics.
An affair of all originals, each player brings an intense appreciation of jazz to the exciting and inimitable journey that’s artistic and engaging.
Travels well with: Will Boness- Is This A Dream?; James McGowan Ensemble- Reaching In