Bellbird: Root In Tandem

Give Canada's Bellbird credit as they come right out of the gate with a chip-on-the-shoulders confidence. Their debut, Root In Tandem, looks like one of those late-50s/early-60s, time-themed Dave Brubeck albums. Credit the gorgeous abstract cover painting. The cover art, though, is where the Brubeck comparison ends. Bellbird is a chordless quartet, with Claire Devlin and Allison Burik on saxophones, Eli Davidovici on bass, and Mili Hong in the drummer's chair.

The four Bellbird players came up in very different environments, out of a wide array of music scenes, but the group gelled when they gathered in an isolated lakeside cabin in the winter in St. Zenon, Quebec, and joined in a musical mind meld to record their debut.

Working without an anchoring chording instrument can set things free in the wildest sense, but Bellbird displays remarkable restraint and calmness, even in the more aggressive moments. They are a deliberative collective, If there is madness to the music there is also a deep method to it. The opener, "Blurred Season," explores the feelings of anticipation brought on by seasonal changes; "Bluff" is a solemn ballad steeped in the loneliness of winter isolation. "If You Can't Swim, Dance" brings Burik's bass clarinet into the mix, joining Devlin's tenor sax in amiable conversations over the fractious rumble of Hong and Davidovici's rhythms.

A cohesive mood is maintained from beginning to end. If it can be tagged free jazz, it is the most approachable and melodious kind. The vibe keeps a hold on serenity even when the leash is loosened, suggesting a certain level of organic harmony was maintained in a small cabin in isolation during the process of creation. It proved to be a good way to make music.

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