At the Molson Pub, on the Jazz Fest’s Esplanade Tranquille, we were quite a crowd Wednesday night to savour the music of Kalia Vandever, a new voice on the trombone, whose reflections you can further explore by reading the interview I conducted with them.
READ THE INTERVIEW WITH KALIA VANDEVER
The artist based in New York (Brooklyn) manipulates her instrument in a way different from her usual jazz colleagues. Don’t think of Trombone Shorty, Steve Turre, Wycliffe Gordon, etc. Vandever does not take much pleasure in distributing bouquets of notes in virtuosic fireworks. It is the long and patient melodic lines, as many cushions for elegant improvisations, that inspire them.
Vandever creates atmospheres that oscillate between ambient and chamber rock groove inherited from the previous generation (E.S.T.), endorsed by the current one (Bad Plus). They are solidly supported by their colleagues on stage in the deployment of well-structured horizontal frameworks. The rhythmic backbone is well maintained by Kayvon Gordon (drums) and Kanoa Mendenhall (double bass), the same as on the album Another View (released in 2025), which constitutes the essence of the performance. On guitar, the only deviation from the album’s lineup, Gregory Uhlmann knows his stuff. Although Mary Halvorsen is inimitable in her unusual timbral creations, Uhlmann still manages to hold his own. He knows how to colour the discourse and even generate astonishing soundscapes. He surprises us by imitating a saxophone in a stunning passage.
A performance that leaves a pleasant memory, like a soft moment of nocturnal and groovy mood at the end of a humid and slightly rainy evening.
Much, much to like.
