You had to be in front of the Pub Molson stage last night at the Jazz Festival to hear a few tracks from the forthcoming album by Montreal saxophonist, composer and bandleader Beth McKenna. I love Beth’s music, I’ll admit. Not only her writing, but also her playing, present us with cinematic panoramas, within which images soar in sophisticated yet accessible lyrical flights. Beth creates modern jazz that communicates emotions directly to a wide audience, without ever abandoning the intellectual rigor required in the construction of her pieces. We can already anticipate that this album will be another solid opus. The title mentioned is Momentum, and Beth gave us a few excellent extracts to listen to, including “Raising Sam” (about taking care of her sick dog), “New Normal” (about all the negativity in the world) and the title track “Momentum” (about climbing up, against the odds and adversity).
After these ear-openers, which lasted for about half of the 6 p.m. set, the composer took us through excerpts from past albums, in a well-chosen program balanced between ballads and more assertive sonic outbursts. With her friends on stage, she confirmed her stature as one of the best musicians rising from the Montreal ecosystem.
photo by Frédérique Ménard-Aubin
