Fraser Hollins' band The Phoenix, a tribute to healing and renewal, feels like home to its bandleader

The Montreal-based bassist, who brings his quartet to Ottawa on Friday, has emerged as a bandleader and composer to be reckoned with.

Published Oct 11, 2023 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 4 minute read

Handout pic of Montreal jazz bassist Fraser Hollins Photo by G Scott MacLeod

After he graduated from Concordia University in the mid-1990s, it didn’t take long for the Ottawa-raised bassist Fraser Hollins to establish himself as one of the Montreal jazz scene’s top sidemen. Peers such as Christine Jensen, Joel Miller and Josh Rager called upon Hollins for the impeccable bottom end that he brought to their music.

But in recent years, Hollins has emerged as a bandleader and composer to be reckoned with. His group The Phoenix, which is one of his two quartets, plays GigSpace Performance Studio Friday night, featuring Hollins in the formidable company of his friends Samuel Blais, who plays alto and baritone saxophones, guitarist Carlos Jiménez and drummer Rich Irwin.

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Below, Hollins explains how The Phoenix nods to his own triumph over adversity, as well the feeling of rebirth that many more have felt during the pandemic era.

Q: Tell me the origin story of your band the Phoenix.

A: I formed The Phoenix at the end of the first long wave of the pandemic, in the spring of 2021. The lockdown was a great challenge, with no performance opportunities, let alone not being able to get together with my musician friends.

The Phoenix is a bird associated with Greek, Egyptian, Chinese, and Hindu mythologies, representing rebirth, renewal, healing, and transformation. The characteristics represented by the bird are resilience, optimism, and resourcefulness. I found the name appropriate given what we had all just been through.

I had also lived a dark and difficult personal moment that came to a head around then. It took the time it took and I was fortunate to have much support. I learned a lot about myself and made some necessary changes in my life that got me through.

Ironically, around the same time, I decided to see about finishing (for about the sixth time) a tune I had started back in New York in about 2004. I always liked most of what I’d written, but I was never satisfied with the ending. The last time I attempted was in the fall of 2015 in preparation for my second album, Treehouse. I was so upset with failing again that I was tempted to throw it out. Luckily, I kept what I had. Anyway, I decided to give the song one last stab on my new acoustic piano, and the solution, which is the new coda, revealed itself immediately. The title of the old version was Revolutions, and The Phoenix became the new title. It’s a tricky tune and not one that I could ever play on a pickup gig, but having performed it a lot with Sam, Carlos, and Rich, it’s very effective.

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Q: Who’s in the band and why?

A: I’m really lucky to have Sam, Carlos, and Rich in this band. We have all known each other for a long time, and the connection from the beginning was special. With a dozen performances in the past two years, the group’s cohesion has deepened tremendously. We played a couple of nights ago at the Off Festival in Montreal, after having not played since early February at the Winter Jazz Fest in Ottawa, and it feels like home from beat one for me. There’s no substitute for the experience of playing together. It’s the only way I know to develop a band sound, which we have now.

Sam is a killer reader, a great interpreter of melodies, and a fresh, creative, and dynamic improviser. He has fat and beautiful sounds on alto and baritone saxophones, and a great rhythmic feel and concept.

Carlos has a gorgeous warmth to his sound. His comping is very buoyant, and perfectly in the pocket. He is also a wonderful collaborator. We’ve had dozens of phone conversations that start with him asking me about a chord symbol or a voicing I wrote. I write mostly on piano, and now I just write for him the top note, which is the melody. Having someone be that curious about my music is very gratifying.

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Rich has a perfect balance of strength and sensitivity, and everything he plays feels great. His ideas are always very clear. Above all, I feel a deep bass-drum hook with him that is effortless to find. I love our rhythmic dialogue, which I find supportive and interactive.

Q: Tell me about the material you’ll be playing in Ottawa.

A: More than 90 per cent of the music we’ll be playing in Ottawa I wrote for this band. That’s the privilege of having the same group together for a couple of years. I write something, they play it better than I imagined it would sound, I’m inspired, I write something else. It’s a kind of great snowball effect, and it’s win, win, win for me. My songs take more and more shape, the band gels more, and I want to keep composing for it. A couple of highlights for me include a new piece called Spider Strut, and a four-part suite I wrote a year ago called The 4th Element.

Q: What goals do you have for the band?

A: I want to keep booking shows, and eventually, I want to record an album the length of the LPs I grew up listening to in the ’70s, and then book some touring. The book of music for The Phoenix has almost double the material required to do a record, and that is liberating for me. I have a clear idea of the document I want to produce, and with more than enough songs, that opens up a few interesting options. I’ll keep writing too. I’m having more fun composing than ever before.

Fraser Hollins and The Phoenix
When: Friday, Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m.
Where: GigSpace Performance Studio, 753 Gladstone Ave.
Tickets: $30 ($19 livestream) at gigspaceottawa.com

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