Inspired by both the painting and Miles Davis’s seminal second quintet in its approach, “Colour Grid” – as well as the band’s upcoming debut album In the World’s First Summer – aims to exemplify communication and improvisation.

“Miles Davis’s quintet was a band that prioritized communication and improvisation, embraced lush and open harmonic soundscapes, and above all, placed the spirit of spontaneity at the center of everything,” muses trumpet leader Lex French.

French has been enthralled by the group ever since adolescence. “When I was about 16 years old, in 1998 or ’99, I bought a copy of Miles Davis’s 1967 album Miles Smiles and was immediately captivated,” he recalls. “Ever since that first listen, I’ve wanted to lead a group that followed in the footsteps of Miles’s second quintet.”

He found that in François Bourassa (piano), Morgan Moore (bass), and Jim Doxas (drums). “They are all improvising musicians of the highest order who can bring their individual and personal approaches to the music but also function as members of the group in order to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts,” French asserts.