No other media outlet in Montreal has so many people on hand to provide expert coverage of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. Many of us are scouring the outdoor site and concert halls: Jacob Langlois-Pelletier, Frédéric Cardin, Stephan Boissonneault, Michel Labrecque, Varun Swarup, Vitta Morales and Alain Brunet bring you their album reviews, concert reports and some interviews. Happy reading and listening!
Julian Lage, Dave King, and Jorge Roeder put on a killer show last Thursday night at Théâtre Duceppe. Notably, the trio displayed what interplay between instruments looks and sounds like when done at a very high level. The first fifteen minutes, in fact, King played almost entirely linearly as he shaped his drumming to Lage’s melodies and cadenza-like passages. At another point, Roeder and Lage dedicated a section of a song to playing impressive ionian inventions up and down their instruments in counterpoint. It’s sometimes hard to tell when moments like these are improvised or well rehearsed but either way it clearly shows the chemistry between musicians and can make for some memorable moments indeed.
When the trio played decidedly more conventional, (with requisite walking bass and typical time feel on the drums), they didn’t shine any less. Their solos over chord changes with strict forms only forced them to focus their creativity melodically instead. When they grew tired of this, the entire band even played a section or two of dense free-jazz that they then juxtaposed with moments of shimmery ballads and chugging blues selections including “Northern Shuffle” from Lage’s latest album.
By the time it was all done, Lage with the help of his musicians and twangy telecaster, had given the audience another night of eclectic and exciting music as is his custom.
photo credit by @victordiazlamich for FIJM
