Ukrainian-born Montreal saxophonist Bogdan Gumenyuk gave a concert last night in which he introduced traditional wind instruments from his native country into his music. The announcement promised a journey through a repertoire inspired by traditional Ukrainian pieces and unusual sounds. The result was much more conventional than expected. The sonic incongruities of instruments such as the rig (a cow’s horn) and the double sopilka (a flute) were occasionally present, but no more. That said, some of them did have a spectacular effect, such as the trembika, a large flute (enormous!, about 3 metres long!) that protruded well beyond the stage and was almost in the audience when Gumenyuk played it. With the sound of a wooden hunting horn, more or less, it thundered quite loudly in the little Dièse Onze club.
The music itself navigated fairly classic jazz waters: ballads that would not have been disowned by the West Coast tenors of a certain era (Getz, Gordon), feverish bop, swaying blues, and so on. We enjoyed a melody that came from the popular Ukrainian repertoire, of course, and also a few more modern incursions like La Terre en soi, released as an EP not long ago (and which I invite you to read my review of). On the whole, though, we were treated to a more careful product than his 2022 album Love Letters to the Other Side (despite the presence of two tracks from the album in question), which handled hard bop of the highest quality with conformity but plenty of fire and sincerity. The touches of unusual instrumentation gave more the impression of a sprinkling than a real conceptual basis.
Nevertheless, and more importantly, there were some fine, inspiring solos from all members of the quartet: Paul Shrofel on piano, Sandy Eldred on double bass, John Hollenbeck on drums and, of course, Bogdan himself on tenor (and a sturdy blower at that). In fact, the packed audience often applauded warmly.
Photo credit: V. Yanuk
