Ernesto Cervini Quartet Announces New LP, ‘Water Pistols at Dawn’

Toronto drummer, composer, and bandleader Ernesto Cervini introduces a new incarnation of his quartet with Water Pistols at Dawn, an adventurous, deeply melodic album arriving October 30th, 2026, on TPR Records.

After more than two decades leading his original Ernesto Cervini Quartet — a group that eventually grew into his acclaimed sextet Turboprop — Cervini felt the pull toward something new. Rather than replace the musical relationships and projects that have defined much of his career, he wanted to create another outlet: a band with different chemistry, sound, and possibilities.

He found it in trumpeter Kae Murphy, guitarist Andrew Marzotto and bassist Mark Godfrey.

Cervini states:

“I figured it was time to see what some of the younger musicians on the Toronto scene were up to, and I think I hit the jackpot with this combination. They challenged me, inspired me, and made these compositions better than I ever imagined they could be.”

The quartet brings together four distinct musical personalities. Murphy contributes a fearless and expressive voice on trumpet; Marzotto moves between atmospheric colour and explosive energy on guitar; and Godfrey supplies a deeply melodic, propulsive foundation. Cervini’s interactive drumming sits at the centre of a group built around trust, spontaneity and a willingness to take chances.

The result is a contemporary jazz sound that embraces lyrical melodies, intricate grooves, improvisation and raw energy, drawing inspiration from musical worlds that include Radiohead, The Smile, Avishai Cohen, Nir Felder, The Bad Plus and Pat Metheny.

That wide musical lens is reflected throughout Water Pistols at Dawn. The six-track album pairs three Cervini originals with striking new interpretations of music by Glenn Miller, Thelonious Monk and The Smile.

Opening track “Waiting for a Win” captures the anxiety of waiting for something good to happen — with a knowing nod to the experience of being a Toronto sports fan. “A Resonant Space” takes its inspiration from the sense of peace and extraordinary acoustics Cervini has always associated with churches.

Cervini wrote the title track specifically for this quartet, looking to give Marzotto something he could really dig into on guitar. The composition unexpectedly developed what Cervini describes as a “cowboy feel,” earning the working title “Cowboy Vibes” and later “Pistols at Dawn.” Uncomfortable with the gun imagery, Cervini eventually landed on “Water Pistols at Dawn,” transforming the image into something considerably more playful: memories of long summer days and water-gun battles at his parents’ cottage.

Ernesto Cervini Quartet ‘Water Pistols at Dawn’ album artwork

The album’s three arrangements reveal another side of Cervini’s musical history. “Moonlight Serenade” reaches back to his years playing clarinet with the Toronto All-Star Big Band; “Evidence” celebrates one of his all-time favourite composers, Thelonious Monk; and “Free in the Knowledge,” by The Smile, connects the quartet with Cervini’s longstanding affinity for the music of Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood.

Despite their very different origins, Cervini approaches all six pieces with the same philosophy: musical boundaries matter considerably less than whether a song has something meaningful to say.

Recorded at Revolution Recording by David Hermiston, Water Pistols at Dawn was produced by Oded Lev-Ari and Ernesto Cervini, mixed by Hermiston and mastered by Nate Wood. The album marks the recording debut of a quartet Cervini sees not as a departure from his past, but as the beginning of another musical path alongside it.

Water Pistols at Dawn Track Listing:

1. Waiting for a Win – 7:16
2. Water Pistols at Dawn – 4:58
3. Moonlight Serenade – 8:06
4. A Resonant Space – 5:31
5. Evidence – 4:25
6. Free in the Knowledge – 6:48