Taking their name and sonic inspiration from the bird responsible for one of the loudest and most distinct calls in the animal kingdom, Bellbird explores themes of interconnectedness between musicians, genres, and the natural world. Their second album and first for Constellation, The Call draws directly from the white bellbird itself, whose extreme, distinctive cry was analyzed and woven directly into the album’s explosively beautiful title track.

The Montréal-based quartet of Claire Devlin (tenor sax), Allison Burik (alto sax, bass clarinet), Eli Davidovici (bass), and Mili Hong (drums) began playing together during pandemic park jams, inspired by the jazz and free improv scene that had formed around Café Résonance. But the four Montréal transplants fully cohered as Bellbird after an invitation to play the 2021 Ottawa Jazz Festival, and they’ve since been refining their rapport and collective voice over years of touring and playing together.

A key feature of their sound is how they subvert the usual roles of their instruments, with horns deploying rhythmic patterns and supportive texture while acoustic bass and drums determine the form. This approach is a microcosm of the band’s egalitarian ethos: they operate as a true collective without sacrificing their individual voices. The album balances muscular compositions, like title track "The Call", with moments where the band slows down to revel in thematic simplicity, as on "Soft Animal" and "Phthalo Green".

Socially and politically engaged, the album is a testament to the profound music created not by a single leader, but by a deeply empathetic quartet listening, responding, and creating as one. The Call channels the band’s feelings on the climate crisis and global solidarity, with one of the album’s centerpiece tracks "Blowing on Embers" explicitly dedicated to a free Palestine. The Call is a decisive step forward, a unified cry from a band fully finding its powerful collective voice.