Dan Fortin Built 'Cannon' From the Bass Up

Bassist Dan Fortin recorded much of his album Cannon (Elastic Recordings, 2024) in a Calgary condo during the early months of the pandemic, armed with just an electric bass guitar. What started as sketches for a solo record evolved into a series of remote collaborations with musicians across Canada, including saxophonist Karen Ng, vibraphonist Michael Davidson, and Dan's brother, Jos. Fortin.

"I didn't know my electric bass recordings would become a record when I first started making them," Fortin says. "Since I didn't know what the final product would look like, I felt like I had to wait until it felt finished."

The Hamilton, Ontario resident splits his time between the JUNO-nominated jazz trio Myriad3, experimental pop band Bernice, and teaching bass at the University of Toronto. His musical roots trace back to his earlier life in Peterborough, Ontario's arts scene.

"My family was involved in the theatre and music scenes there," he says. "As a kid, I spent a lot of time hanging around Artspace, the Market Hall, the Gordon Best Theatre. There was so much going on. I was enamored with the work people were doing and the strong sense of community."

The album's ten tracks include "Eastern Side of the Ural Mountains," a piece built around his brother Jos's ambient electronics. "It's the only piece that didn't start as a solo bass piece," Fortin notes. "It began with Joe's slow-burn ambient thing that I improvised over. There's a certain kind of connection that you only find between siblings."

Recording during the pandemic influenced both the album's sound and process. "About half of the bass parts were recorded in that condo in Calgary," he says. "These pieces feel very tied to the places where they were recorded in ways that may not be detectable to anyone other than me."

Rather than trying to direct listeners toward specific emotional responses, Fortin keeps the music open to interpretation. "I don't try to write music about anything or with a specific mood. I just try to find and stick with an idea to see where it wants to go. I'm pretty turned off by how music is organized in terms of lifestyle and mood playlists these days. I don't like music that tells me how to feel."

This approach carries over to his views on genre labels. "At this point, jazz acts as a massive catch-all umbrella term for all kinds of sounds that don't seem immediately connected," he says. "It doesn't bother me since I like music that falls under that umbrella. I'm not a purist, but music gets handcuffed by notions of genre."

For Fortin, teaching at U of T's Faculty of Music connects directly to his work as a performer. "Everything I think about while onstage I talk about with my students, so teaching and playing is all music to me. Having to explain what you do to younger musicians helps you clarify your own ideas."

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