Jazz Fest opens with Yoo II and Nolan Potter's improvisational super-group

What began as a casual studio jam at South by Southwest in Austin last year has become a fully realized album, and now a live performance at Montreal's International Jazz Festival this weekend: Yoo II and Nolan Potter, a super-group born from five hours of pure improvisation.

The lineup: Yoo Doo Right and Population II, two Montreal ensembles, joined Texas multi-instrumentalist Nolan Potter (saxophonist and bandleader). They met at a festival in Austin, booked studio time, and recorded for hours with minimal planning. Potter initially planned to release it free on Bandcamp, but the Montreal label Mothland insisted it was album material. During mixing and mastering, the musicians realized they'd captured something whole—not just three groups playing together, but a unified piece that transcended the sum of its parts.

Nearly 90 percent of the final album came from that single session; only minimal overdubs were added. Five tracks—two exceeding 10 minutes—make up the album released last September. The titles are cryptic: "Golfe du Mexique," "Cavelier," "Ralliement," "La Perla," and "Z. (The Alley Watcher)." They weren't composed; they were chosen by the musicians as evocations of the week they spent together in Texas. La Perla refers to a place they visited; Z. to a person they met.

Pierre-Luc Gratton (Population II's drummer), Sébastien Provençal (Population II's bassist), and the members of Yoo Doo Right all describe the project using the same word: "vacation." It's music-making stripped of commercial pressure, freed from their usual bands' habits. "The goal is to inspire people to make music," Provençal said. "If someone comes to see us and decides they want to make music in this style, exactly this free, our mission is accomplished. It doesn't matter who you are or what you do—if you want to make music, it's possible when you have friends."