Pivotal Arc Videos

About the project and teasers

Pivotal Arc Mini-interview Series

Short interviews with each member of the ensemble

#17  Nathalie Bonin, violin soloist
& Quinsin Nachoff, composer, tenor saxophone, producer
#1  Mark Helias, bass
#2  Antoine Bareil, violin II, Molinari String Quartet
#3  Olga Ranzenhofer, violin I, Molinari String Quartet
#4  Satoshi Takeishi, drums
#5  JC Sanford, conductor
#6  Frédéric Lambert, viola, Molinari String Quartet
#7  Michael Davidson, vibraphone
#8  Pierre-Alain Bouvrette, cello, Molinari String Quartet
#9  Yvan Belleau, woodwinds II
#10  Bill Mahar, trumpet II
#11  Jean-Pierre Zanella, woodwinds I
#12  David Grott, trombone
#13  Brent Besner, bass clarinet
#14  Bob Ellis, bass trombone
#15  Jocelyn Couture, trumpet I
#16  David Travers-Smith, audio engineer, producer

Pivotal Arc (2020)

Nathalie Bonin – violin soloist / violoniste soliste

Molinari String Quartet / Quatuor Molinari
Olga Ranzenhofer – violin I / 1er violon
Antoine Bareil – violin II / 2e violon
Frédéric Lambert – viola / alto
Pierre-Alain Bouvrette – cello / violoncelle

JC Sanford – conductor / chef d’orchestre
Michael Davidson – vibraphone / vibraphone
Mark Helias – bass / basse
Satoshi Takeishi – drums, percussion / batterie, percussions
Quinsin Nachoff – tenor saxophone / saxophone ténor

 

Jean-Pierre Zanella – piccolo, flute, clarinet, soprano sax / piccolo, flûte, clarinette, saxophone soprano
Yvan Belleau – clarinet, tenor sax / clarinette, saxophone ténor
Brent Besner – bass clarinet / clarinette basse

Jocelyn Couture – trumpet 1 / 1ère trompette
Bill Mahar – trumpet 2 / 2e trompette
David Grott – trombone / trombone
Bob Ellis – bass trombone / trombone basse

The many diverse threads of Nachoff’s career are triumphantly woven together in this stunning, ambitious realization. ‘Pivotal Arc’ brings together virtuoso violin soloist Nathalie Bonin with a jazz-inflected unit comprising two established giants of the NY scene, bassist Mark Helias and drummer Satoshi Takeishi, and the striking young vibraphone player Michael Davidson, and a wind and string ensemble conducted by JC Sanford for a concerto that boldly mixes written and improvised sections. A contemporary string quartet performed by the renowned Molinari String Quartet and the extended title piece round out the album. Consistently unpredictable, fearlessly innovative, breathtakingly accomplished, and full of creative passion, Nachoff’s work as composer and improviser is constantly increasing its scope to encompass ever greater horizons.

String Quartet (from Pivotal Arc)

Commissioned by the Molinari String Quartet and Nathalie Bonin through the generous support of The Canada Council for the Arts 

First perfomance on November 24, 2018 by the Molinari String Quartet at Salle Gesù, Montreal, Canada

Duration is approximately 16 minutes

Recorded and released on Pivotal Arc (Whirlwind Recordings, 2020) by the Molinari String Quartet (Olga Ranzenhofer, Antoine Bareil, Frédéric Lambert, Pierre-Alain Bouvrette)

Commissioned by the Molinari String Quartet, through the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the String Quartet was initially conceived as a work to be performed alongside Nachoff’s Violin Concerto (2018). Each of the four movements is a miniature concerto for each member of the quartet. The first movement features Violin II, the probing second movement showcases the Viola, the vacillating third movement is for the Cello and the intense final movement is for Violin I. It represents some of Nachoff’s most intricate writing to date, allowing him to explore his deep attachment to the tradition and his engagement with contemporary iterations.

With a strong sense of rhythmic vitality, subtle and tangential jazz influences permeate the work. The pizzicato solo cello in the third movement is reminiscent of an improvised bass solo. Interlocking rhythmic figures in the fourth movement at times bring to mind the counterpoint of a drumset. Quarter tones are woven into the melodic vocabulary of the work as a means of expression and dimensional shifting and at numerous times overtones and glissandi are used to generate textures that lean towards electronica. The theme of the individual and their relationship and responsibilities to the group are explored in different ways in each movement.

String Quartet was premiered in 2018 at Salle Gesù, Montréal, by the Molinari String Quartet and can be heard on Pivotal Arc (2020) on Whirlwind Recordings.

This project was made possible through the generous support of The Canada Council for the Arts


The photograph used in this video is part of ‘Touch Base, arctic solargraphy’ a global collaboration between visual artist Udo Prinsen and approximately 25 scientists working at field research locations on, around and above the Arctic Circle. They helped capture the mystique of the environment with pinhole cameras on long-exposures.
Qikiqtaruk (Herschel Island, Yukon, Canada)
In collaboration with Dr. George Tanski

Le photographe utilise dans ce video font partie de ‘Touch Base, arctic solargraphy’ une collaboration mondiale entre l’artiste visuel Udo Prinsen et environ 25 scientifiques travaillant sur le terrain, sur le cercle arctique et autour et au-dessus de cercle arctique. Ils ont aidé à capturer la mystique de l’environnement avec des appareils photo à sténopé lors de longues expositions.
Qikiqtaruk (île Herschel, Yukon, Canada)
En collaboration avec le Dr George Tanski

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