L'Abîme: L'Abîme II

Montreal-based composer and pianist Jonathan Turgeon, double-bassist Hugo Blouin, and drummer Jean-Philippe Godbout have been together as a rhythm section since 2015, performing, recording, and following in the footsteps of musical heroes as diverse as Herbie Hancock, Olivier Messiaen, and Radiohead. L'Abîme II is their second release as the ensemble L'Abîme (The Abyss), following L'Abîme I (Multiple Chord Music, 2021).

L'Abîme's "earlier incarnation" released two recordings as Trio Jonathan Turgeon: Au Fil des Feuilles que Craquent (Self-Produced, 2015) and Les Rêves Errants (Multiple Chord Music, 2017). In the interim, the band transmogrified from acoustic jazz trio to electroacoustic quintet, with Turgeon performing on Rhodes (and effects), and Alex Dodier up front on flute and saxophones (primarily alto) with Gabriel Genest on tenor saxophone and bass clarinet.

Turgeon also released a couple of solo "side projects" between incarnations. Reliques (Self-Produced, 2025), an acoustic piano offering, contains a meditative solo version of his "Pied de Vent," the piece that opens L'Abîme II. As a note, pied-de-vent is a French-Canadian metaphor for sunbeams poking through clouds and the name of an award-winning soft cheese made by a particular fromagerie in Québec.

Turgeon penned all of the compositions on L'Abîme II, but he credits the arrangements to the full band. What they do with "Pied de Vent" is remarkable. Liner notes point to a "dreamlike melody" and "hazy atmosphere," an ethos that applies equally well to the solo piano rendering and the quintet arrangement. The piece remains recognizably the same, but the L'Abîme II version ups the danceable-groove factor with hits, breaks, and other rhythmic touches. Improvisation is plentiful, and the timbral palette is inspired and refreshing: the cool, crystalline sound of Turgeon's Rhodes against the warm, diffuse lower register of Dodier's flute, which is low-lit by Genest's grainy bass clarinet; the long decay and sunny bounce of Blouin's bass supporting the quiet skip and snap of Godbout's drums.

"Corvus," the second track, turns the temperature up with a rock feel, distortion in the piano, and electronic effects. "Trickster," the third cut, is particularly effective, with the simple dissonance of its parallel horn lines, the undulating piano backgrounds, the crackling metric shifts articulated by drums and bass, and Dodier's strong alto solo on top. Turgeon's pieces tend to have evocative titles, which the band exploits to advantage, improvising magical, sometimes eerie sound environments, as in "L'Ivresse Cosmique" (Cosmic Intoxication) and "Faire Voler les Samares" (Make the Samara Seeds Fly). Others are more structured, like "Bestiaire," where an acoustic piano sound emerges out of a tightly woven background, and "Forillon," where clarinet and bass come to the fore.

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of L'Abîme II is the use of color—timbre, intensity, brightness. It feeds the group's explorations. Creating vibrant acoustic combinations and mixtures of instruments with electronics, the ensemble builds vivid soundscapes that spur invention, that fertilize Turgeon's compositions, making them spring to life.