Naufragés
Alex Lefaivre Quartet
arteboreal (alexlefaivre.com)

Alex Lefaivre’s latest quartet outing is a delightfully sequenced blend of energy and lightness that makes for a compulsively listenable project. As a listener, I’ve found that my most memorable experiences often occur when I can tangibly sense how much musicians relish interacting with each other, and this recording is a prime example of such synergy. Lefaivre’s basslines and guitarist Nicolas Ferron’s rhythmically inclined blowing on standout original Reset serve as a wondrous showcase for two musicians who are fully engaged with each other, listening intently. Meanwhile, Alain Bourgeois’ drumming is sensitive and understated, playing nothing but the bare functional necessities for most of the album’s duration, releasing only the occasional outburst for the most exciting moments. The band is locked in and Lefaivre is the primary driving force behind their sound. In the compositional sense, his lines propel the forward motion of the rhythm section while anchoring the melodic content, particularly on the rather animated track Sly. 

Lefaivre’s time feel is rock-solid and assured, helping to firmly ground the ensemble during the eccentric time signatures of tracks like Sneaked. He also fashions the bass into a highly effective comping instrument, providing a springboard for Erik Hove’s alto showcase on Sin City. All in all, Lefaivre has assembled both a group of artists and a set of tunes (playfully including a Led Zeppelin cover) that have allowed him to refine his band, leading chops in a very enjoyable way.

Alex Lefaivre Quartet: Naufrages

by George W. Harris • November 11, 2021 • 0 Comments

Bassist Alex Lefaivre leads a team of Nicolas Ferron/g, Erik Hove/as and Alain Bourgeois/dr through a mix of originals and interpretations. His own material has the Paul Desmond-inspired Hove rocking out over the exciting “Boiler Room” and bluesing with Ferron on “Sin City”. The team gets serpentine on the Middle Eastern moods of “Sly” with some creative pedal work by the strings. Most hip is the pulse created by Lefaivre and Bourgeois on a nifty take of Miles Davis’ “Time of the Barracudas” and a hoot of a version of the Led Zeppelin “Immigrant Song”. Lots of ideas that bounce around well.

Alex Lefaivre Quartet: Naufrages

“Montreal composer and bandleader Alex Lefaivre colours his jazz canvas from an impressively broad palette. Eclectic and cinematic, his five originals and three covers radiate (mostly) subtle echoes of film noir, heavy metal, punk, disco and reggae, lending the music a relatively raw and yet, paradoxically, sophisticated aesthetic. Lefaivre, who plays acoustic and electric bass, and drummer Alain Bourgeois generate a fiery engine room platform, over which alto saxophonist Erik Hove and guitarist Nicolas Ferron, who share a similarly good rapport, send sparks flying. The closing rendition of Led Zep’s Immigrant Song’ is alone worth the price of admission.”-Tony Hillier