Canadian jazz artist Francois Bourassa, a seasoned musician boasting eleven albums of his original music under his name, went into Studio Piccolo, Montreal in July of 2022 to record Swirl. He employs a quartet to realize his artistic vision here, a classic line-up of piano, bass, drums and a saxophonist who doubles on flute. The pianist proves himself here a writer of unorthodox beauty, crafting circuitous tunes full of intricate and unexpected twists and turns.

The twelve-plus minute "Pooloop" opens the set with an urgent and unsettled mood that eases into a contemplative drifting that then pops to life with an intense and dark-hued groove. Nothing is predictable with this tune full of waxing and waning interludes, floating in outer space one moment, diving into the atmosphere the next with a mission in mind.

The eloquent thirteen-minute "Prologue" is next, defying a prologue's expectations of opening the show and the characteristic brevity and concision of such introductions into the music that follows.