Florian Hoefner | "Into The Aquashphere"

Florian Hoefner Unites Jazz Quartet and Chamber Orchestra on Ambitious New Album

Recorded in Montreal with an all-star cast led by conductor JC Sanford, Into the Aquasphere explores water and climate through three original compositions — out October 23 on ALMA Records/Universal

Florian Hoefner is a man who loves a challenge. His instrumental virtuosity as a pianist and his sharply-honed skills as a composer have previously been on display in the jazz world. There, he has won a Juno Award and earned international acclaim for a now extensive discography. He has also made forays into classical chamber music as the composer of the critically lauded “Blue Chapter” of “Project Earth” by the Iris Trio and poet Don McKay.

Hoefner is now moving into the orchestral realm, with equally compelling results, as evidenced by his upcoming album, Into the Aquasphere. To be released on ALMA Records/Universal on October 23^rd 2026, it is viewed by Florian as his most ambitious work yet.

This is Hoefner’s first large ensemble project, and it features a jazz quartet (piano, bass, drums and tenor saxophone) in tandem with a 22-piece classical chamber orchestra. As Florian stresses, ‘’this is not a jazz quartet accompanied by an orchestra, but one ensemble, where the quartet is fully integrated with the orchestra.” The result is neither strictly jazz or classical, but an original symbiosis bringing out the best of both.

Armed with the three original compositions that comprise Into the Aquasphere, ‘’Aerial Rivers,’’ ‘’AMOC,’’ and ‘’Force of Nature,’’ Florian went into Studio Piccolo in Montreal in October 2024 with a cast of outstanding musicians from across North America led by conductor JC Sanford. The ensemble included one of New York’s finest rhythm sections with John Hébert on jazz bass and Eric McPherson on drums, an all-star woodwind section, including his wife, clarinetist and bass clarinetist Christine Carter, genre-bending percussionist Ben Reimer, and an exceptional string section led by Grammy Award-winning concertmaster, Nathalie Bonin.

The ensemble delivers a compelling performance of Florian’s masterful compositions, combining virtuosity, contagious rhythmic energy, and a lush, refined soundscape to create music of cinematic quality. Their performance conveys the full range of emotions needed to engage deeply with this complex subject.

The project focuses on the elemental force of water and its profound influence on life, with each piece portraying a different facet of the interwoven relationship between human life and water.

‘’Aerial Rivers’’ is named after the atmospheric movements of large amounts of moisture from the Amazon Basin that sustain life over a vast area of South America. ‘’AMOC’’ references the acronym for the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, an extensive system of Atlantic Ocean currents now under threat through climate change. The final composition in the suite, ‘’Force of Nature,’’ explores the elemental power of water in its many forms, and the piece draws inspiration from water’s ability to both destroy and soothe.

Explaining the choice of an aquatic theme for Into the Aquasphere, Hoefner explains:

‘’I have always been creatively inspired by the environment. Even when I lived in Germany I always sought out nature experiences, whether it was hiking high up in the Alps or swimming in wild waters. These experiences have left a lasting impression on me and I care deeply about protecting the natural places that inspired them.

This new album comes on the heels of a very productive period in Hoefner’s career with a variety of different ensembles, including his longstanding trio with Andrew Downing and Nick Fraser, a re-incarnation of his quartet, the Florian Hoefner Group, and with the Atlantic Jazz Collective, an all-star ensemble he co-founded with fellow Juno Award winners saxophonist Mike Murley and bassist Jim Vivian that featured Norma Winstone and Joe LaBarbera on their 2025 Juno-nominated debut album, Seascape.

Reflecting on his artistic philosophy, Hoefner explains, “I’m driven by the challenge of finding new ways to express my musical voice. Whether through different ensembles, collaborations, or artistic contexts, my goal is always the same: to create work that connects with audiences through performance.”

Into the Aquasphere brings that philosophy to life on an extraordinary scale, uniting an ensemble that transforms Hoefner’s distinctive musical voice into a powerful, immersive artistic experience.