It’s the 31st annual Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. MAGNET’s Mitch Myers translates the action.
Happy Canada Day! After my brief break in the action yesterday, the jazz fest is moving forward and picking up speed. While I personally frequent indoor gigs and mostly smaller venues, this 12-day event is mammoth in both size and scope, and the free, outdoor concerts could keep most any music lover busy for days. And after all my talk about venerating our jazz elders, I made a particularly foolish move and bet against 80-year-old Sonny Rollins a couple of nights ago, gambling that his performance would be only “good, not great.” I skipped the show, and of course, all of the reports back from my peers claim that it was one of his best concerts in ages and that his saxophone playing was totally inspired and he even sang a blues at the end of the show. Sonny, how could I have doubted you? Forgive this ageist fool.
Sticking with the Invitation Series hosted by French über-drummer Manu Katché, I caught another early evening gig at the Gesù Theater, this one featuring Katché in a trio context with French guitar star Sylvain Luc and magnificent Cameroonian bassist/singer Richard Bona. The buzz portrayed this threesome as a supergroup, and I have to admit they were completely amazing. The question mark was Luc and how the guitarist was going to do alongside such a killer rhythm section. A straightforward jazz player with loads of skills, Luc stepped up his game and held his own, avoiding clichés and improvising fearlessly. Switching back and forth from acoustic to electric, Luc pushed his bandmates into uncertain territory repeatedly. His playing was consistently inspired, allowing Bona and Katché plenty of opportunities to turn up the heat. No doubt, Bona was the real attraction here, and his bass served as both a lead and rhythm instrument, balancing the trio and providing counterpoint from several different angles. Bona’s touch is technically amazing and incredibly fluid, and his bass playing conveyed joy and humor as much as it did provide a funky, burbling bottom when needed. Bona also sang in a beautiful falsetto, very similar in timbre to the great Milton Nacimento. Katché, of course, grooved all night long, smiling at his peers’ inventiveness and soloing with great vigor. From soft ballads to loud, funky jams, these guys played their tails off and had a great time doing it. Encore!
British pianist Neil Cowley and his band dazzled a full house at L’Astral, and I have to say I was impressed. Check out Displaced for a good example of his playing. A solid jazzer with exhibitionistic displays, this guy really knows how to entertain. Maybe it’s from his time playing with funk/soul acts like the Brand New Heavies, but Cowley is certainly not shy behind the keyboard. When speaking to him before the show, Cowley told me that he was classically trained until the age of 14, when he heard a Blues Brothers album; that was it—he never turned back. With any luck, Cowley will catch on in the U.S., as his witty, powerful piano style grabs you quick and hangs on tight.
Wrapping things up at the Gesù with Dave Douglas & Keystone was somewhat challenging but ultimately worthwhile. Douglas is a talented, versatile trumpeter/composer, and his band serves as a vehicle to perform movie music. In the past, Douglas has set music to the silent films of Fatty Arbuckle. More recently, Douglas created a sonic backdrop for Bill Morrison’s new film, Spark Of Being, which is apparently inspired by Frankenstein. Without the benefits of seeing the accompanying film, some of the music from Spark Of Being felt vague and directionless, but the ensemble playing of Douglas and Keystone eventually won out. Saxophonist Marcus Strickland was especially notable, as was drummer Gene Lake. I couldn’t really hear keyboardist Adam Benjamin that well, bassist Brad Jones had trouble with his sound all night long, and the electronic samples created by DJ Olive and manipulated for the show offstage by Countryman did not really add that much. Ending strong with some Fatty Arbuckle music, Keystone is an exciting group that’s perhaps bigger than its original mission. We’ll see where Douglas takes them next.
Coming up, it’s John Zorn’s Masada Marathon. Yikes!
