Festival de Lanaudière | Bruckner and Payare: Cathedral builders

by Frédéric Cardin

One man meticulously drew up all the plans for a majestic edifice, while the other was responsible for raising it from the ground, on solid foundations, decking it out in the finest finery and lifting it to the heavens. The undertaking succeeded admirably, and the result unveiled last night at the Amphithéâtre de Lanaudière was something of an Olympian.

I’m talking about Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 in C minor, which the explanatory clichés always compare to a great, magnificent cathedral. For once, let’s give clichés their share of symbolic truth. The Austrian composer’s penultimate symphony is indeed grandiose and monumental, and written in a spirit of vibrant devotion (Bruckner was very religious). This work, which lasts almost an hour and a half and requires a huge orchestra, has everything it takes to stimulate an architectural allegory as impressive as that of a cathedral. Notre-Dame? Reims? Strasbourg? Cologne? You get the idea.

Payare has skilfully constructed this Herculean edifice yesterday, with details and contrasting dynamics that reinforce the spiritual drama at work. Drama, yes. For even if we compare the Eighth to a cathedral, even if we say, quite rightly, that it is like an immense prayer by the composer, inviting us all to share his devotion with it, the power of the emotions concealed in this score tells a personal story of the search for transcendence.

Everything was perfect. Payare controlled the dynamic impulses, without really holding them back, just communicating, clearly, Bruckner’s will. Like a spiritual ferryman. Moments of extreme gentleness were so faintly audible that the nearby birds sounded louder. The composer would have been ecstatic! On the contrary, the moments of magnificence filled the natural basin of the site like the divine taking up all the space.

And what an orchestra! Payare and we are lucky. Ideal intonation of the solos, section ensembles and tutti, phrasing of the adagio without haste but with a palpable inherent energy.

This Adagio, moreover, and especially this quivering ascent of the strings accompanied by the three (!) harps, a celebrated moment (which recurs several times) that transports music-lovers very close to the gates of Paradise, had something purely celestial about it, and was perfectly successful. As for the finale of the Finale, a majestic construction, the final finishing touch to a sublime building that would house any supreme divinity of any cult (God, Allah, Brahma, Odin, Ra, Zeus, etc., etc.), this finale that grabs you by the guts and lifts you up in spite of yourself, was grandiose to a fault, but without any vulgarity. All real, all felt, with respect and elegance.

Oh, I could quibble about details. The trumpets in the Scherzo could have been much more incisive. I like them that way, you see. To mark the plebeian side of the movement, in contrast to the piety of the previous one. And the last bars of the first movement, which call for contemplation, could have been a little more “contemplative”.

Nevertheless, this level of musical quality is to the credit of our Montreal orchestra, which is undoubtedly one of the best in the world. Bravo to the soloists, impeccable, and in particular Catherine Turner on the French horn. What exceptional work, what accuracy of tone, sonority and colour. The lady was remarkable, mastering an instrument that is so capricious and so often tempted to betray its owner.

The only real downside was the audience: it was only partially full. A shame, given the quality of the performance on offer.

Choral Music / Classical / Modern Classical / période romantique

Festival de Lanaudière | Magistral Opening

by Alexandre Villemaire

The 47th edition of the Festival de Lanaudière opened with a bang, as sonorous as the first note of the masterpiece of this July 4 concert inaugurating a month of music in the Lanaudière region. Led by Rafael Payare, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the OSM Chorus delivered a masterful performance of Carl Orff’s landmark secular cantata Carmina Burana. This was the first time in thirteen seasons that the work had been performed at the festival. An excellent opportunity for listeners and music lovers to discover or rediscover the work.

The first part featured two works with contrasting pictorial characters. The opening work was “Icarus” by composer Lena Auerbach. Eminently descriptive, the work of course refers to the figure from Greek mythology who, wanting to get too close to the sun, burnt his wings and ended up drowning. It’s an example of human nature’s desire to push back its limits through boasting and greed. The work oscillates between different moods, sometimes tense, sometimes lyrical. The first section establishes a dialogue between strings and woodwinds in this affect. A second section takes on more dramatic accents with the intervention of the brass, followed by a passage of great lyricism in the strings that flows into a harmonic anxiety that culminates in an evocation almost of a funeral march with the intervention of tubular bells. A third, calmer section is introduced by the harp in dialogue with the pizzicati of the violins, before a counter-melody interpreted by first violinist Andrew Wan progresses in an evanescent suraiguity that eventually melts into the ethereal sound of musical glasses. All in all, a well-cut composition with fine orchestration and imaginative orchestral effects.

After this ethereal piece, Rachmaninov’s “Rhapsody on a Theme” by Paganini moves into a wild register. Taking up the already virtuoso work of Italian violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini, Rachmaninov’s equally complex treatment was led by German pianist Kirill Gerstein. He demonstrated great pianistic agility in expressing the various passages, supported by a precise Rafael Payare. The only discomfort we felt was that the orchestra, even in its instrumental support role, was a little too sonically recessed.

Masterpiece. From the first stroke of the timpani and the first note of the chorus singing “O Fortuna”, we are taken on a solid musical journey. The words are clear, the pronunciation and articulation precise, and the various dynamics Payare brings to bear are roundly executed. The OSM conductor opted for a sequence of each of the twenty-five movements in attaca for his interpretation, keeping the attention and the audience and giving the work a clear narrative direction to its medieval poems tackling themes such as the constant nature of fortune and wealth, joy and the pleasures of alcohol and the flesh. Among the finest moments is the ninth movement, “Reie”, which features a superb, intimate passage between the voices. The entire In Taberna sequence, literally “at the tavern”, was aptly staged by countertenor Lawrence Zazzo and baritone Russell Braun. The unique tenor aria “Olim lacus colueram” (Once I dwelt on a lake), literally a swan’s lament describing the various stages leading to its being eaten, was both comic and disturbing, but unambiguously clear. Equally unambiguous was the duet between soprano Sarah Dufresne and Russell Braun “Tempus est iocundum”, (Time is joyous) where the inflections of the vocal line and the acceleration leave no doubt as to the nature of the text, which describes a scene of committed love. Both Dufresne and Braun delivered a heartfelt, vocally arresting interpretation of their respective arias.

With a masterful start to its fourth season, we can only wish the Festival de Lanaudière good luck for the rest of its programming.

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Modern Jazz

FIJM | For The Centenary of Oscar Peterson, Montreal’s Most Famous Jazzman

by Alain Brunet

Oscar Peterson (1925-2007) would have been 100 years old on August 15, and his daughter Celine has taken to the stage more than once at the Maison Symphonique to highlight the tribute program. On July 4, 2025, OP was still the most renowned Montreal musician in jazz history. Successor to the first supravirtuoso of modern jazz piano, the great Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson was in turn the supravirtuoso of his generation, the biggest jazz piano star of the ’50s and early ’60s.

For this centenary, various musical events commemorate this celebrated native of Little Burgundy. The most important is undoubtedly the one at the Maison Symphonique, where drummer Jim Doxas was in charge of the first part of the program, but let’s not forget that he honored OP’s music earlier this week at the FIJM, alongside his brother, saxophonist Chester (Chet), pianist Taurey Butler, trumpeter Lex French and other MTL colleagues.

On stage at the Maison symphonique, Jim Doxas was surrounded by the excellent Roma pianist Robi Botos, guitarist Jocelyn Gould and bassist Mike Downes. They played “Backyard Blues” and “When Summer Comes,” with Robi Botos’ piano playing a direct descendant. High-flying and voluptuous! Guests joined the basic quartet: Chet Doxas and Lex French took part in a medley of iconic OP pieces, including the magnificent ballad “The Night We Call It A Day,” a must-hear on an OP album entitled The Trio, on the Verve label.

And that’s not counting singer Paul Marinaro, a close friend of the Peterson clan, who came to perform “Taking A Chance on Love” and “Goodbye Old Friend” – whose lyrics were written after the sudden death in 2005 of the great double bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, long-time sideman of the century-old pianist.

The second part of the program consisted of a performance of the eight parts of Oscar Peterson’s Canadiana Suite with the same ensemble, this time expanded to include 14 wind instruments, making for a very fine big band, under the direction of John Clayton. A wise, somewhat monochrome performance, nevertheless respectful of the late Oscar’s most ambitious work.

A surprise at the very end: our beloved Oliver Jones came to present the Oscar Peterson Award to its new recipient, none other than the evening’s musical director: Chet Doxas, who was Oliver’s sideman for a very long time. And the nonagenarian is still able to play!

Well, it’s no longer the time for grand sparages, but the big hands of the Montreal pianist, a worthy successor to OP for music lovers here, are still working and spreading beautiful keyboard chords throughout the cosmos. This would never have happened if Oscar Peterson and his sister Daisy, who was his piano teacher, had never existed.

Photo : Emmanuel Novak Bélanger

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FIJM | Marcus Strickland and The Black Fusion Following

by Alain Brunet

On Friday night at Studio TD, the impetuous tenorman Marcus Strickland (Bilal, Roy Haynes, Robert Gasper, Dave Douglas, etc.) brought us back to a very Brooklyn vibe with an all-black band: beefy drummer perfect in heavy funk and contemporary jazz, bassist perfect in this aesthetic and multi-keyboardist just as typical of this contemporary jazz fused with the groove jazz of the 70s and 80s.

Back in those increasingly distant days, we couldn’t have imagined a cover as groovy and electric as “Pinnochio,” composed by Wayne Shorter for the Miles Davis quintet—on the legendary Nefertiti album. We were delighted to hear it. Super version!

The forty-something saxophonist’s quartet is heavy, seasoned, sandpaper-like and rough despite the finesse and high virtuosity of these performances typical of black American and New York jazz. Because it’s not all about polyrhythmic grooves or heavy funk-jazz, there’s also plenty of room for swing, binary/ternary alternations, Great American Songbook ballads and soul/R&B. What’s more, Marcus Strickland is inspired by bird song, the planet Jupiter (thank you, Sun Ra), and the pentatonic chants of West African griots. But first and foremost, the saxophonist relies on the spirits of jazz.

Marcus Strickland’s brand of jazz may have run out of steam for a while, and we’ve lost interest … but we’re coming back to it, as we’re seeing more and more signs of a comeback. Ever since hip-hop sampled its predecessors, new practitioners have been emerging and driving the form forward from the very beginnings of their careers.

And who, it seems, are becoming cool again, winning over a young public fascinated by such musicianship, such compositions, such improvisations, such culture, such groove. A good deal!

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expérimental / contemporain / Jazz

FIJM | Fievel is Glauque For Dessert… Dessert loaded!

by Alain Brunet

Misc for starters and Fievel is Glauque for dessert on Thursday July 3, at Studio TD in Brussels.

Brussels singer Ma Clément likes the Cocteau Twins, Whitney Houston and Björk. Keyboardist Zach Phillips cites Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Royal Trux, Annette Peacock, MF Doom, Mal Waldron and Carla Bley. And all these names in no way sum up the audible, rich and exciting result.

Fievel is Glauque has a vast palette and a vast program. With its penchant for polyrhythms, modern harmonies, chamber music, pop and chanson, this is a chamber orchestra with hybrid instrumentation.

These are not “songs” in the proper sense of the word, as the lyrics (in French and English) are set in long pieces that in no way subscribe to the criteria of pop culture. It’s hard to play, and you have to be a fan of complex forms to really appreciate it.

Ma Clément’s relatively slim voice (but always accurate and impeccable phrasing) is reminiscent of Lætitia Sadier (Stereolab), but with more technical demands and even more charged compositions. Saxophonist and flautist André Sacalxot is the main soloist in this full orchestra, which will be the subject of a cult following if it isn’t already. Truly a discovery.

Photo: Emmanuel Novak Bélanger

FIJM | Thursday Ends With Suuns

by Marilyn Bouchard

Montreal trio SUUNS was at Club Loto-Québec on Thursday, July 3, as part of the Festival International de Jazz’s Nocturnes Loto-Québec, a series of late-night, upbeat concerts.

Ben Shemie, Liam O’Neill and Joseph Yarmush mastered their repertoire for the occasion, and presented us with an amalgam of cult and lesser-known songs in front of giant inflatable letters of their names and primary-colored lasers.

They opened with a bang, delving into their legendary album Images du Futur with Music Won’t Save You, to which they returned later in the program with “2020” and “Edie’s Dream,” each time to the cheers of a lively crowd well-versed in their repertoire.

We were treated to selected tracks from their most recent album, The Breaks, as well as from Felt and Zeroes QC. It was really interesting to see how they managed to balance their different atmospheres live, seamlessly blending electro-clash with almost acoustic moments. We were also treated to extended progressions and moments of improvisation.

At the end of the evening, Ben surprised us with a heartfelt reinterpretation of Offenbach’s “Faut que j’me pousse,” whose message seemed to resonate deeply with him. They left us as they arrived: on electrified frequencies which, in the end, represent their emblematic and evolving avant-rock musical project.

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Ambient / Electro-Jazz / Electronic / Jazz / Post-Rock / Prog Rock

FIJM | Misc: Beat Bouquet Well Garnished!

by Alain Brunet

You had to be at Foufounes Électriques to feel the fragrance, as it was the occasion to present Beat Bouquet‘s launch concert, released at the end of May. The Montreal trio took center stage, surrounded by hundreds of fans who could observe, circulate, applaud and shout their contentment.

Misc likes to create special events, beyond the concert, and the installation at Les Foufs was comparable to a concept implemented by the same trio, this time at the Centre Phi to defend the material from their previous album, Partager l’ambulance.

Made up of keyboardist Jérôme Beaulieu, drummer William Côté and bassist Jérémi Roy, Misc’s seemingly jazz-influenced mix is typical of the movement of recent years, although it also features a variety of digital, electro ambient and hip-hop influences, as well as prog rock and post-rock. These authentic trippers have even convinced Daniel Bélanger, always prone to experimentation, and Zouz, one of QC’s finest rock bands of the moment, to each contribute a piece to the new album – Resté couché (November) and Feu de batteries respectively.

Since their beginnings (in the previous decade), these guys have been tripping together in the studio, their six-handed, three-headed compositions the result of long play sessions from which emerge the inspiration and works presented in Wednesday’s premiere.

They love complex rhythms, complex chords, complex sounds, they also love the grooves inherent in jazz or rock, they love chaos and they love organizing chaos. In short, they aim for a mix of the familiar and the new, a mix that’s well-balanced enough to go beyond the realm of the initiated. The performance was excellent. You need to be an educated instrumentalist of a very high standard to play what Misc play. And all to our great pleasure.

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Americana / Blues / Folk

FIJM | Allison Russel’s Apotheosis Concert in Her Hometown

by Michel Labrecque

Incandescent, resilient, moving, burning, luminous, magnificent! All this and more can be said about Allison Russell.

Accompanied by a trio of musicians, the singer-songwriter revealed herself to a huge crowd on the FIJM stage. And it was a brilliant, magical moment!

After a short clarinet solo and an a cappella song, Allison followed up with her song Montreal, which recounts some very painful moments from her Montreal childhood. But it was also a way of telling the audience that she was happy to be back in her hometown. And that she was making it her own.

“It’s good for my spirit to be here with you,” she chanted.

It seems to me that Allison Russell is becoming more and more assertive, and that her voice is gaining in depth all the time. Her Americana mix moves us, makes us groove and also makes us think. The 43-year-old seems to be glowing, despite a turbulent past and a complicated career to say the least.

This concert also had a Montreal dimension: she sang several verses in French and addressed the crowd as much, if not more, in the language of Molière than in that of Donald Trump.

She also spoke of the importance of free access to culture in Montreal, of the art that literally saved her life when she was a teenager. She still loves Montreal.

The now Nashville resident also shared with us her anxieties about what her host country is becoming, the reversal of pro-diversity policies, of which she is a great supporter.

Who knows? Donald Trump may end up deporting her. She recently sang on a song with several groups called “No Kings in The USA.”

But last night, it was the music that dominated everything. And that voice! Allison Russell also took the risk of lowering the intensity in the middle of the concert to present us with a more acoustic “campfire” moment, singing the magnificent “Superlover,” which she recorded in the studio accompanied by Annie Lennox, the legendary singer of the British band Eurythmics. A song about tears in Palestine, Israel and Tennessee.

Then it was back to grooving for the last part of the concert, much to the delight of the crowd. By chance, we heard some bangs, probably fireworks, which for a moment made us think of an American invasion… I’m joking, but not completely.

I’m still amazed that many Quebecers don’t know Allison Russell, despite an interview she gave on Tout le monde en parle in 2023. I hope this free outdoor concert will give her the recognition she deserves here as much as anywhere else.

Photo: Victor Diaz Lamich

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FIJM I Best Dressed, Most Possessed: Fantastic Negrito Stupefies Rogers Stage

by Stephan Boissonneault

Xavier Dphrepaulezz, better known in the music world as Fantastic Negrito, is one of the most spellbinding artists in contemporary blues today. His albums, which have earned him Grammys, always have some combination of gospel, blues rock, unhinged roots, and freakiness to them, as if he’s a ghost from another world sharing his story. It’s a tough sound to translate to live, as he usually has a choir backing him for those huge-sounding gospel numbers, but his performance at Montreal Jazz fest was still nothing short of electrifying and surreal.

From the moment he strode onto the Rogers Stage, dressed in a bold, flamboyant ensemble—a vivid burgundy vest, huge ’70s bell bottoms, and that signature wide-brim pimp hat, wild, frazzled sideburns, and to top it all off, a golden cape with the words “Dictator of Taste,” spray-painted on—he claimed the title of “best dressed” without question. His wardrobe felt like an extension of the music: daring, soulful, and unapologetically unique. But it was his unhinged attitude that truly stole the show. His stage prescence is that of Kat Williams, a bit of Prince, and Chris Tucker in Rush Hour, that’s the only way to describe it in my eyes.

Musically, every riff, every soulful shout, and every stomp felt unleashed, teetering on the brink of chaos in the most thrilling way. Tracks from his latest album, Son of a Broken Man, felt heavy. One moment he was preaching directly to the crowd with soulful conviction, the next he was strumming wild guitar, jumping toward the edge of the stage, daring the audience to keep up. Some random 76-year-old named Pierre, that Negrito called his “cousin” randomly walked on the stage for a cover of James Brown’s “Sex Machine.”

“I didn’t know that guy existed,” he laughed. “Get on Ancestry.com”

The band matched Fantastic Negrito’s fervour at every turn, with drums pounding, organ swells amplifying the tension, and some filthy lead guitar. “Everyone thinks this next song is a love song, but it’s about trying not to cheat,” he told the audience before jumping into his grooving “I Hope Somebody’s Loving You.” I wish he had played “Lost In A Crowd,” but we did get some gospel type humming halfway through his set, so that was plenty. Long live Fantastic Negrito.

Photos by Frédérique-Ménard-Aubin

Jazz

FIJM 2025 | Beth McKenna : raising her Momentum

by Frédéric Cardin

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

Contemporary Jazz / jazz groove

FIJM | Julius Rodriguez, Jazz Groove Ace

by Alain Brunet

Under contract to Verve for the album Evergreen (2024) and having already filmed his Tiny Desk on NPR, Julius Rodriguez did what he had to do at Studio TD on a Wednesday, July 2, 2025: set the place alight.

Back in Montreal, the 26-year-old is one of those virtuoso keyboardists (especially of the right hand) who emerged with the jazz resurgence of the previous decade. We can’t yet assume a widespread presence, but these new formations are swarming the free FIJM stages and suggest that the wave has gained in intensity and coolness.

One thing’s for sure: Julius Rodriguez is one of the key players. The American keyboardist and composer (of Haitian origin) is nothing less than an ace groover! A multi-instrumentalist to boot, he throws us a drum solo interspersed with his sampled keyboard improvisations. Capable of anything!

It’s worth pointing out that he has perfectly assimilated his classics. Without a hitch, he appropriates Herbie Hancock’s “Butterfly,” making it an emblematic piece of his repertoire and accelerating the tempo just a tad in a quartet format (trumpet, bass, drums, keyboards). Very good.

Granted, the musician’s original compositions have nothing to destabilize music lovers of groove jazz or jazz at all, but there’s a freshness and an aspiration to go even further than what we heard Wednesday night in the Studio TD.

Take this improvised conversation between Rodriguez, with his keyboard slung over his shoulder, and the excellent trumpeter Alonzo Demetrius. This beautiful exuberance is enough to rekindle the jazz flame in anyone who witnesses such an exchange in real time.

In fact, these young musicians are all at the level of the world’s elite, and it’s easy to predict that the best is yet to come. And it’s all the more gratifying to see music lovers of their generation embracing this high acumen and fervour of playing.

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FIJM | Men I Trust Shines Brightly on The Place des Festivals

by Marilyn Bouchard

The reunion between the Festival International de Jazz audience and Men I Trust, long overdue since 2016, took place this July 3 under lightning and light rain, the show having been delayed by around twenty minutes due to the storm cells raging around it.

As soon as Emmanuelle Proulx took to the stage, however, the heat was on. To the cheers of the crowd, she greeted Montreal in French, and the show began as it ended, with a song from the new Equus Cabullus album: “To Ease You” and “Billie Toppy.” In between, we were treated to a selection of the band’s best-known songs, such as “Show Me How,” “Tailwhip,” “Seven,” “Serenade Of Water,” “Suga,” “I Hope To Be Around” and “Say You Can Hear,” before a conquered crowd that stretched farther than the eye could see.

Jessy Caron and Drago Chiriac also seemed possessed by the energy of a return to their roots, as they were both on fire, giving inspired performances on their respective instruments. Special mention must go to the lighting, with its magnificent backlighting reminiscent of Beach House’s stage aesthetic: a thing of beauty.

An electrifying evening in every sense of the word, with the Montreal trio shining brightly on the Place des Festivals. Not even the rain could dampen their spirits.

Photos: Frédérique Ménard-Aubin

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