PAN M 360 at FIJM 2024 | Audrey Ochoa Quartet, a convincing groove

The Audrey Ochoa quartet gave a very competent performance last evening at the Pub Molson stage. Highlights of the show include several selections from her latest album The Head of a Mouse which was well received here at PAN M 360. Notably, the quartet formation resulted in versions of these songs that were more bare-bones, but still effective. Additionally, Ochoa showed off her talent as a vocalist singing “I want you back” by the Jackson 5. There were, however, a few elements that stopped this good show from being a great one. 

When joking with the crowd, Ochoa comes across as rather clunky. Her voice also betrayed a nervousness when speaking that affected the vibe of her set. (Did someone forget to tell her that Montreal Jazz Fest was one of the happiest places on earth?)
This nervousness, fortunately, seemed to be completely forgotten as soon as Ochoa began to speak instead through her horn. When soloing, you can see she has a confidence coming from somewhere visceral; it would be nice for her to maintain that. 

Another nitpick of mine was the use of sheet music on stage by some of the musicians. I wasn’t under the impression that they were absolutely dependent on their charts but having them visible, along with music stands, created a barrier between audience and performer. It felt to me like I was watching a high-level rehearsal of interesting compositions and that a final dash of showmanship was missing. 

Finally, to my ears, the bassist and pianist didn’t nail the more salsa influenced moments of Ochoa’s music. It takes a while to learn salsa grooves with the proper inflections, and their interpretations lapsed into cruise ship level approximations at the worst of times. Only the drummer, besides Ochoa herself, seemed to have a decent command of Latin rhythms as the approximations percussion wise were quite serviceable and groovy. 

Regardless, I believe Ochoa has a lot of skill and it wouldn’t take much work on her end to transform her concerts into true events. I’m glad the prolific Edmontonian trombonist was able to make it to this year’s festival as it was a pleasure to review her eclectic music and see her abilities in a live setting. Here’s hoping she finds just a little bit of arrogance to match her prowess musically. 

photo: Artist Instagram page @audreyochotron