Mixmodes is (if I’m not mistaken) the tenth album by Montreal saxophonist Mehdi Nabti, including some EPs. A decade that corresponds to a little more than another in terms of creative chronology, since In situ, released in 2012. It’s a sustained rhythm that is only matched by the relative anonymity in which the musician still lives. It’s a shame given the quality of his protean music and his intellectual and stylistic roots, grounded in a fusion of jazz, rock and North African music.
If in the first half of his creative career, Nabti often integrated traditional North African instruments such as the oud and the derbuka into his compositions, in recent years, these have become rarer, changing the look and colour of his writing to make it more ontologically jazz. Nabti seems to be focussing more strongly on integrating his North African cultural roots into the very fabric, the rhythmic and harmonic structure, of his music. Less in skin colour and more in flesh and muscle. Mixmodes and its predecessor Continuum (2023) are in this sense the composer’s most accomplished constructions, which significantly diverge from the sound worlds of other Arab-jazz artists like Rabih Abou-Khalil, Anouar Brahem, and Ilbrahim Maalouf.
It’s probably also the result of his experiences with the current band that accompanies him with brilliance and is named Prototype. Nabti has been sailing with it since the album Les règles de l’Art (ethno-engineering) from 2018, and to your faithful chronicler’s ears, it’s a winning formula (even if the previous iterations also offered us many memorable musical moments).
We notice in Nabti an incessant concentration on rhythm, the pulse on the borders of rock and the purring groove (with a sustained presence of the bass). Dressing this regular framework, modern harmonies from a studied hard and post-bop, then topping it all off, unpretentious but creative improvisations, appropriated by all the musicians in the group.
Another reason to love Nabti and his universe, especially if you’re a bit of a geek: the numerous references to mythology, genre literature (sci-fi, fantasy), science, or esotericism in his titles, and this since the first albums. Some examples: Neptune, Oracle, Aldebaran, Hyperion (on Mixmodes), Astarte, Positron, Atlantes, Samsara, Cyborg, 22322 (Geomancy), etc., etc., on the other albums. These titles apparently have no influence on the music itself, but the touch adds something endearing to the approach. Hey, what can I say, between geeks, we support each other!
That said, if you’re really a music lover, especially of jazz, hurry and go discover Mehdi Nabti’s catalogue (available on Bandcamp).
In the meantime, there is this freshly released album, and a concert that will be given on October 23 at Bourgie Hall in Montreal.
DETAILS AND TICKETS FOR MEHDI NABTI’S CONCERT AT SALLE BOURGIE, OCTOBER 23, 2025
Mehdi Nabti: alto sax, clave, production, compositions, and arrangements
Philippe Bernier: electric guitar
Nicolas Lafortune: electric bass
Bertil Schulrabe: drums
