Bellbird are a Montreal-based collective consisting of bassist Eli Davidovic, tenor saxophonist Claire Devil, alto saxophonist and bass clarinetist Allison Burk, and drummer Mili Hong. They formed in 2021, inspired by the jazz and free-improvisation scene around Café Résonance. During the pandemic, they began playing together at socially distanced park jams before performing at the Ottawa Jazz Festival that same year. They self-released their 2023 debut, Root in Tandem, before landing a deal with Montreal-based label Constellation Records and releasing its follow-up, The Call.
Recorded at Hotel2tango in Montreal by engineer Sylvaine Arnaud, The Call is an off-the-wall improvisational release that captures Bellbird pushing their instruments into challenging territory, sending electrical sparks through every performance. The name Bellbird comes from the bird responsible for one of the loudest and most distinctive calls in the animal kingdom. With The Call, the group draws thematic inspiration from the white bellbird itself, whose cry is powerful enough to send shivers down your spine.
The album takes you back to labels such as Impulse!, Rune Grammofon, and ECM, but most importantly to the late, great John Coltrane, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year. Take, for example, ‘Murmuration.’ We hear incredible improvisation from Hong’s drumming and Davidovic’s double bass, giving either Devil or Burk the carte blanche they need to lay down Middle Eastern textures that reach toward spirituality and freedom from the chaos of six years ago.
As the piece rises higher and higher, you feel as if you’re witnessing something special, almost like something straight out of the sessions for King Crimson’s Lizard era, where Keith Tippett’s arrangements challenged the group to embark on insane avant-jazz territory that could make your skin crawl. Burk’s smooth bass clarinet arrangements behind ‘Eternity Perspective’ create one of the album’s most slithering yet ominous pieces, ascending and descending into complete madness.
Hong’s layered textures ensure that she keeps her eyes and ears on the beat, constantly listening for where the other members are heading. The opening ‘Firefly Pharology’ shifts toward the spirit of ‘Acknowledgement,’ with its mid-fast interplay between Burk, Devil, and Davidovic. For a brief moment, they enter A Love Supreme territory, tipping their hat to the master before making a celebratory shift back toward the animal kingdom. It feels like an alarming setup for the adventure that is about to begin.
You feel the craziness and intensity of the saxophone as it launches into a roller-coaster ride across the landscapes of the Canadian border, with a throttling pounce waiting to hit you in a nanosecond. It recalls the Zeuhl maestro Magma during their 1970 self-titled debut, as well as Captain Beefheart’s saxophone attack on ‘Hair Pie: Bake 1’ from his 1969 opus Trout Mask Replica.
That’s how good Bellbird really are. They know their love of free jazz and their source material to the core. The title track speaks to the electric-fusion era of Miles Davis, particularly Bitches Brew. The combination of the bellbird-like calls, drums, and dooming double bass plucking is powerful, in-your-face, and down to the bone. Bellbird make that call with such force that it eventually erupts into a climactic galloping section during the final three minutes.
It may not always be comfortable, but Bellbird want to keep listeners on the edge of their seats with blaring textures that challenge all of the senses. The music feels as if it is waiting for you to stop, listen, and experience the bird’s call for yourself.
‘Mourning Dove’ turns into a wonderful walk through the Peanuts universe, with beautiful textures that evoke Vince Guaraldi, Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk. We meet the gang and Snoopy as the music builds into an incredible high call, drifting across the various landscapes and locations associated with those beloved characters.
So far, The Call may not be everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to jazz, but that is exactly what makes Bellbird so compelling. This is an energetic, powerful, and exploratory album that refuses to play it safe. Bellbird embrace free improvisation, avant-jazz, and the spirit of experimentation while still giving each musician room to create something unpredictable. The Call is challenging, strange, intense, and alive, and it deserves a place in the record collection of anyone willing to take the journey.
