Hello Montreal!

One of the city’s most amazing bass players, Fraser Hollins, will be releasing his debut CD called “Aerial” this Friday and Saturday at Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill.

Joel Miller, Steve Amirault and Martin Auguste.

Aerial is also available on Fraser’s website, the FairJazz website, iTunes or CD Baby.

It’s gonna be a great show!

It’s been a little while since I have updated this blog. Certainly not as regularly as I did a couple months ago. Mostly, I just haven’t been going out that much this summer. Pork Pie is on a bit of a summer vacation.

Last night though, I went to Diese Onze, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. I love Al McLean, Brian Hurley and Michel Berthiaume in any combination (full disclosure for the first time on this blog–Michel is my partner which is why I never really write about him though I see him perform more than most other musicians in town. So now you know, in case you didn’t.)

Added to the mix of three of my favourites was Chet Doxas, who I am also very fond of.

One of the highlights for me was the very last tune when Chet invited one of Michael Buble’s sax players and trumpet player up on stage. I totally forgot their names, but will fill in that blank when I find out.

Anyways, I LOVE Michel Buble. I am not ashamed to admit it. I was hoping if I was really chatty with the musicians in his band they would bring me to him. It didn’t happen. But it was still a very fun night.

You can see more photos on the Pork Pie facebook page.

Ananda X. Suddath has been living in Montreal and actively enjoying the local jazz scene since 2002.  She plays guitar and is currently completing an Undergraduate Degree in Jazz Studies and Performance at Concordia University.

Last Thursday’s audience took in the final installment of July Artist of the Month Al McLean’s concert series at the Dièse Onze Jazz Club.

For the past four weeks, the Montreal-based tenorist and vintage sax repair aficionado (“Hey, I got new [sax] parts in the mail today, it’s like Christmas!!”) has been playing two sets of material featuring several original compositions of his as well as a few standards.

McLean was seen performing mostly on tenor, but for variety’s sake, and perhaps also to test-drive some recent repairs or modifications, he also brought out a C-melody sax on some pieces (a less common saxophone, pitched in the key of C, that looks and sounds like a hybrid between an alto and a tenor).

I was fortunate enough to manage to see most or all of the four shows.   Although the sets included the same material from week to week, it turns out monotony had flown out to Siberia just in time for the heat wave!!  (Sorry, couldn’t help it).

Here’s where it got interesting : each week’s show featured a different quartet, each new crew comprised of players chosen among ‘la crème de la crème du local jazz-cat crop’.  Each player brought a characteristic color to the mix, making a very personal contribution to the material laid out for him or her to play.  Therefore, all provided McLean with a slightly different springboard off of which to elaborate thoughts and feelings through his horn. A total of eleven guest players (Gregory Burton and Alexandre Grogg on piano, André White on drums, Rick Rosato on double-bass, plus others mentioned above and below) kept the music fresh and powerful all through July, regardless of whether they were the ones soloing, accompanying, or doing anything else in between … And Golly knows there was a lot of that thrown in, for good measure.

Last week’s concert proved that there would be no exception to the rule, as we had the pleasure of hearing drummer Michel Berthiaume, double-bassist Brian Hurley, guitarist Carloz Jiménez, and of course, McLean himself bring the music to life yet again.

With a nod to Coltrane as part of the title, McLean’s “Trane Tracks” got the evening off to a good start, as we got to hear him blow on an uptempo blues – probably one of the things he’s known for doing best.

“Stalingrad” is an angular modal composition we got to hear a bit later on; it was explained to me that this piece is actually a type of “ear-training game” where chord changes happen on cue.  However, there is no clear visual cue given, forcing players to rely on what they hear coming from their bandmates in order to keep it all together.

Although I thought the blues and “Stalingrad” were quite impressive, I must say that one of my favorite moments of the evening was a beautiful rendition of “He Wears A Pair Of Silver Wings”.   I got the sense McLean has a deep connection with this old song (his statement of the melody was applauded, which is rather unusual).  It’s a beautiful old song, but beyond that, I believe I sensed multiple layers of meaning within his interpretation, as if McLean had conversed with and confided in this dear old friend for a very long time prior to taking it out for drinks on Thursday.

Another very high point was a McLean-penned piece called “Don’t Let The Blues Shine In”, where solos were taken over a long, free-form rubato section that would eventually segue into a fast-swing section.  All players took turns painting exciting pictures on this canvas.

During this piece, I must say I gained a whole new appreciation of Brian Hurley’s bass playing. I think that’s because this was the first time I’d ever heard him play in a context where he seemed to be in his element as much as he was on this particular evening, his distinctive, fiery, sinuous bass lines snaking happily along while keeping the rest of the group on its toes.

Carlos Jiménez, who was, in fact, called in at the last minute as a replacement for André White (astonishingly, a perfect piano-playing clone of the previous week’s drummer!!), unassumingly pulled off quite the feat at the end of this piece, bringing the group’s energy level back down to almost nothing, leading a supernaturally even descent from a very high point in the song’s dynamic arc — with as much finesse and skill as an expert pilot landing a small plane in a violent storm.

Unexpectedly, it struck me then that although we more often lavish praise on the successful creation of forward, upward momentum when we listen to a player solo, a deft closing statement “going the other way” can have at least as much impact, as Jiménez’ did.

Drummer Berthiaume provided strong, intuitive, responsive support throughout, and proved to be a keen, alert presence on a stage where any deficiency in that department could easily have been disastrous at many different points during the performance.

All in all, I would say that the fourth and final part of Al McLean’s “Royal Residency”, as he himself wryly referred to it — in the cozy St-Denis basement that’s become one of the city’s prime jazz venues over the past few years — was a strong performance from four strong players, and an exciting event overall.

To me, it didn’t quite top the mind-warping, soul-melting experience that the first quartet cooked up on  July 1^st (at which point pianist Marianne Trudel, bassist Normand Guilbault and drummer Jacques Masson, along with McLean, played one of the best jazz shows I think I’ve seen in Montreal in the past few years).

Nevertheless, I walked out of Dièse Onze last week knowing the good people there could easily’ve charged me more for the first set than they did for the entire evening… drinks included.

Not that I’m complaining or anything.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to decide on Pork Pie Pix these days, I have to do a lot of digging around to find out what’s up. Here are two gigs I would love to make it out to. I’d really appreciate a heads up from Montreal jazz musicians if you have upcoming gigs you’d like me to write about.

Have a good weekend!

Friday, July 16
Hum/Geggie/Omae/Fraboni Quartet
@ Upstairs Jazz Bar and Grill

Saturday, July 17
MAâNOUCHE SWING
@ Diese Onze
7 pm
Damien Levasseur, Simon Pagé,  Lou Boustani

A Flat in Oslo
Composed by Kevin Dean

Kevin Dean – Flugelhorn
Al McLean Saxophone
Morgan Moore Bass
Dave Laing Drums

Recorded on March 25, 2010 at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts, Montreal Quebec

This installment of the film series, Jazz, Period., features Montreal’s best working Jazz musicians playing on rare period instruments. In this performance, trumpeter Kevin Dean picks up a 1950 Besson Paris flugelhorn, and saxophonist Al McLean on a highly engraved 1952 Buescher ‘Big B’ alto saxophone. Although the instruments are not familiar to the players, both musicians freely explore their color and response, and the results are dazzling.

The instruments were the catalyst for the film. “I’m always interested in connections between the past and present”, says Randy Cole, the film’s director and co-producer. “The old instruments really bring the past alive, and we can hear the origins of the music, even in the contemporary context the players create.”

Cole acknowledges the challenge of having professional musicians quickly adapt to unfamiliar instruments. “The players were very gracious to play on a variety of horns that weren’t their own. The result was quite special; there is a certain kind of spontaneity, and unpredictability to the performance. In some ways, it’s really in the spirit of improvised music.”

Although the musical composition is titled ‘A Flat in Oslo’- already a clever play on words by composer and occasional Oslo resident Kevin Dean — this film is an affectionate vignette of Montreal, and more specifically, Plateau Mont Royal and Mile End. These two neighborhoods capture the quirky heart of this enigmatic city. Somehow, the residents of this neighborhood seem content — there is some feeling of success on the street, not monetary success, but a kind of jealous contentment, a chest thumping belonging. One of the few places where people aren’t primarily concerned with social climbing, rather, simply enjoying what is.

The performance was recorded in the landmark Montreal edifice designed by Architect Phyllis Lambert. As Dean’s composition offers a framework for the artists to improvise within, the Modernist building is also deliberately structural, with a simple, skeletal framework housing a bustling hub of artistic activity.

The Segal Centre for Performing Arts is a cherished heritage building in a city that loves its history and culture. No wonder such musicians are to be found here, there is an audience for the finest in this venerable city – fine Jazz, food, architecture. It is said that Montreal is an anomaly in North American culture. There may not be any other city that can nurture a Jazz scene of such caliber and accessibility. When the Montreal International Jazz Festival subsides, these guys are just getting started…

It’s Friday ALREADY!? Have a great weekend!

Friday, July 9
Jeff Johnston Trio
@ Upstairs Jazz Bar and Grill
8:30pm
Michel Berthiaume, Dave Watts, Jeff Johnston

Saturday, July 10
Yannick Rieu Trio
@ Diese Onze
7 pm
Yannick Rieu, Adrian Vedady, John Fraboni

Sunday, July 11
Trio Bruxo
@Les Bobards
10.30pm
David Ryshpan, Nicolas Bédard, Mark Nelson

There is a jazz festival going on. I have attended surprisingly few shows, hanging out mostly at jam sessions. Tonight will be one of the best jazz fest nights for me– I will be attending the Steve Kuhn Show. I just interviewed him for sortiesjazznights and it was a great experience. Happy July 4th!? The video interview and some kind of recap of tonight’s show will come soon.

In the meantime, here’s a video of the Steve Kuhn Trio, 1969

Friday, July 2 (and Saturday)
Matt Herskowitz Trio with Lara St. John
@Upstairs
7 and 9pm, $18.50
Matt Herskowitz, Mat Fieldes, David Gotay, Lara St. John and Kevin Warren

Saturday, July 3
Erik Hove Trio
@ Diese Onze
10 pm
Erik Hove – saxophone / Clinton Ryder – bass / Thom Gossage – drum

Sunday, July 4
Steve Kuhn, Joey Baron, David Finck
@Gesù, Centre de créativité
10.30pm, $32.50
David Finck , Joey Baron , Steve Kuhn

I’ve been doing a lot of running around during the jazz fest. It was great to take some time to sit down with Alan Paul and Cheryl Bentyne from the very a very popular vocal jazz group Manhattan Transfer. Watch these JazzTV interviews to hear about their newest album the Chick Corea Songbook, the different personalities of certain instruments, and the key to staying together for almost four decades.