The Molson Pub, located on Place Tranquille, is the place where true FIJM jazz fans gather for the free shows. Here, you won’t find any blues, folk, or “world” music. Instead, you’ll find jazz in all its forms.
It’s a nice spot: near the stage, it’s covered. Further away, there are places to sit. You can also play pétanque or ping pong. But the audience is there first and foremost to discover lesser-known sounds and get a feel for jazz. And it’s often really thought-provoking!
This Thursday, June 25, we were treated to a Vancouver-based quartet led by Filipino-Canadian keyboardist Mary Ancheta. The group’s name: MA:Q. The lineup included Dominic Conway on saxophone, Matt Reid on electric bass, and Paul Clark on drums, in addition to the pianist and arranger.
The quartet has just released its debut album, When The Light Comes To Play. It makes no secret of its influences from Weather Report, McCoy Tyner, and even David Byrne. The result is a funky or fusion jazz sound that’s very pleasing to our ears.
On stage, the band sounds funkier than on their albums. Drummer Paul Clarke pounds away at his drums. Matt Reid’s thumping bass is ever-present.
For their part, saxophonist Dominic Conway and pianist/keyboardist Mary Ancheta treated us to some truly inspired solos. This group isn’t reinventing jazz, but they gave us a performance that was a real pleasure to listen to. It will be interesting to see what they do in the coming years.
A fun anecdote: a rapper, whom the band had run into an hour earlier, was invited to perform a song with the quartet. Apparently, they do this at every concert whenever possible.
We know that Montreal has a very vibrant jazz scene, but Vancouver’s isn’t half bad either. MA:Q is a prime example.
Photo Credi: Victor Diaz Lamich
