The Artie Roth Quartet – Resonants

Resonants is the third release by the Artie Roth Quartet, featuring 10 new compositions by Toronto composer, bassist and bandleader Artie Roth. Formed in 2013, the group is completed by top Canadian improvisors Anthony Michelli, Mike Filice and Sam Dickinson.

A trailblazing 21st Century jazz concept album, Resonants bristles with the sound of sympathetically resonating objects recorded within the studio setting. Lyrical melodies, catchy bass lines, driving rhythms and soaring guitars weave a daring, experimental tapestry of genre crossing music, seamlessly blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, ambient and folk. 

Building on the critical acclaim of their debut and sophomore releases Currently Experiencing (2015) and Discern (2017), the quartet reunited with the Brooklyn-based Juno Award-winning, Grammy-nominated producer Roman Klun. Resonants was recorded in the fall of 2022 at Grant Avenue Studio, the erstwhile studio of legendary Canadian producer and musician Daniel Lanois.

Derived from an unorthodox combination of the two words “resonance” and “tenants”, the album’s title is a neologism alluding to our existence as individuals empathically inhabiting a complex, evolving social landscape. The compositions on this recording were penned during the pandemic, when the best and worst of the human condition seemed on full display, especially with respect to the aspirational notions of empathy, cooperation and the collective greater good. With a post pandemic reality now in sight, the music on Resonants is offered to listeners as a hopeful gesture towards a bright journey forward together.