By Dan McClenaghan
November 16, 2023
Confluence, on its surface, may come off as a minor work of
art. It is the juxtaposition of just two instruments—saxophone and
piano—braiding sounds together in what seems an improvisational mode. Francois Bourassa stays in the piano chair. Philippe Cote's
seating arrangement shifts between tenor and soprano saxophones, piano
and prepared piano. But the limitation of instrumentation in the hands
of these Montreal-based artists contains mysterious depths—intricate
swirls of silts appearing beneath the surface of crystalline water.
Influences of modern classical music emerge.
The five-part
"Confluence Suite," penned by Cote, serves as the centerpiece. All
instrumental possibilities are visited—two pianos, soprano and tenor
saxophones and prepared piano. It is about water. "The Forks" pays
tribute to Fork in Winnipeg, the meeting place of two rivers; "When Blue
Meets White" speaks of the junction of the Blue and White Niles;
"Ganges: Purification" pays tribute to India's ritual bathing practice.
Bourassa's "Tour 1" kicks off the album. "Tour 2" closes it. Both showcase the modern classical influence on the composer.
The
music displays haunting beauty and subdued eloquence, full of liquid
kaleidoscopes in a limited color range—brown, blue, and green. The tunes
are melodically malleable, magically understated and deeply searching.
The addition of prepared piano on "Muted Song, "Confluence" and "On
Duty"' adds an exotic, flattened, marimba-like percussive flavor to the
proceedings, while "Chire" is by turns playful and serious, featuring
soprano sax and piano in a nod to minimalist composer Steve Reich. Cote's "Hushed Song" is another tenor sax/piano rumination that plays out as a statement of minimalist majesty.
Confluence proves itself not a minor work at all, but rather a major one, a profound tale told in an unpretentious and beautiful way.