Quantum Jazz and Aleatory Composition in Andrew MacKelvie’s Many Worlds LP
On March 6, 2026, the Halifax-based label Watch That Ends The Night will release Many Worlds, the debut LP from the octet led by saxophonist Andrew MacKelvie. The project centers on a compositional framework where chance determines the structural outcomes of the ensemble’s performance.
Artist: Andrew MacKelvie
Release Date: 2026-03-06
Genres: Avant-garde, Experimental Music, Jazz
Label: Watch That Ends The Night Records
Description: Andrew MacKelvie’s Many Worlds arrives March 6, 2026, on Watch That Ends The Night. A pulse-driven jazz LP built on chance-based scores and dice.
Featured image: Photo composite by Jamie Kronick
The origins of the group’s methodology trace back to a 2012 bicycle accident involving MacKelvie. A collision with a vehicle resulted in spinal fractures and a shattered knee; the impact was partially absorbed by his saxophone case. During the event, MacKelvie reported an experience of time dilation, a theme that informs the album’s conceptual interest in the Many-Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.
MacKelvie utilizes chance-based scores where musicians roll dice to generate their specific parts. This approach allows for the rewriting of material prior to each performance. The ensemble includes Andrew Jackson (trombone), Jackson Fairfax-Perry (tenor saxophone, synth), Tom Richards (trombone, euphonium, keyboard), Ellen Gibling (harp), Ross Burns (guitar), Gabriella Ciurcovich (bass), and Doug Cameron (drums).
The record was tracked at Fang Studio in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, between June 9 and 11, 2025. Michael Cloud Duguay co-produced the sessions with MacKelvie and contributed circuit-bent melodica to the tracks “Impact / Awake” and “What Lies Just Beyond?”. The latter piece is a contrafact of “Berlin Sky” by the late percussionist Jerry Granelli, who served as MacKelvie’s mentor within the Creative Music Workshop.
Vocal contributions appear on several tracks. Lance Sampson, performing as Aquakultre, provides poetry on “Time Dilation.” Meghan Gilhespy and Zoe Leger contribute voices to “Testament,” “Time Dilation,” and “What Lies Just Beyond?”. The track “Mirror Era” utilizes an insistent layer of handclaps as a foundation for synthesized and brass textures.
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