Interviews Archive - Page 32 of 114

Lara Somogyi’s harp and Jean-Michel Blais’s piano conversed in the Californian desert, more precisely in Joshua Tree, where the musician lives with her husband Cyrus Reynolds. Jean-Michel had been invited as a friend and… once there, pianist and harpist improvised for a few hours together, and here we are, with over 35 million listens to this improvisation that became an album on the recommendation of Lara’s composition production partner and spouse. For Quebec music lovers, Jean-Michel Blais’ reputation is well established, but the biographical profile of his Francophile American colleague is less well known, as you can see in this interview with Alain Brunet. In addition to her work as a composer and performer, Lara is also a much sought-after studio harpist in the USA, both for the audio world and for film and television. Her credits speak for themselves, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Rufus Wainwright, Bonobo, Terence Blanchard and even Hans Zimmer. Jean-Michel Blais and Lara Somogyi’s album Desert was released at the end of the winter, and its live version will be presented for the very first time at the Gesù, this Saturday, July 5, as part of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.

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“She discovered early that the true essence of music is not just about what you hear, but how it makes you feel. Her mission is to keep the ‘Soul’ in music alive” says her bio profile. Alexis Lombre, 28, is an emerging soul/jazz artist from Chicago, more precisely from the South Side. She toured with Jon Batiste, Terrace Martin, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ledisi, Lizz Wright, STOUT, Keyon Harrold, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Marcus Miller, Nicole Mitchell, Jamila Woods, DJ D-Nice, and the Miles Davis Electric Band. She was awarded the inaugural 2022 New Music Next Jazz Legacy Award and the 2023 Luminarts Award.

And she was playing in Montreal on July 3rd at Pub Molson stage.

With her trio, she proposed a nice blend of soul/R&B/gospel jazzy original compositions and also references from the past, including a solid version of Duke Ellington’s Caravan. So ? The quest for new jazz artists at PAN M 360 led us to Alexis Lombre ! Here is our conversation.

PAN M 360: Thanks a lot Alexis for accepting this interview. One of the main programmers of this Montreal festival suggested that I discover your craft like a few weeks ago. Which I did !

Alexis Lombre: Thank you !

PAN M 360: And well, it’s the beginning of maybe a long relationship with Montreal.

Alexis Lombre: I hope so, yeah.

PAN M 360: You’re from Chicago, you play the piano and you sing. You also compose your own music and play with other bands like Marcus Miller.

Alexis Lombre: Yeah, I was even here with Marcus Miller in 2022 at the Montreal Jazz Fest.

PAN M 360: This time, you’re coming with your own band, your own compositions. So let’s talk about the evolution of your craft, your own identity as a keyboard player, composer, and also a singer-songwriter.

Alexis Lombre : Yeah, my favorite piano players are Gene Harris and Bobby Timmons.

PAN M 360: Oh!

Alexis Lombre: Funk guys, I mean, and of course, Oscar Peterson from Montreal. And of course, I love Herbie (Hancock) coming from Chicago.

So it’s funny because I feel like Herbie, my love for Herbie has followed me throughout my life in an interesting way. Like I loved Herbie because he had that kind of soul jazz energy. But then as he gets more into his more fusion type stuff with Headhunters. Earlier in my career, I loved the straight ahead Herbie Hancock. And then as I got older, and as his records progressed, I loved his more fusion records as well. And Herbie being a South Side Chicagoan as well, like I am.

PAN M 360: You’re from the South Side?

Alexis Lombre: Yes, sir.

PAN M 360: Chicago has such a beautiful new music scene. In Hip Hop you have Saba, for example.

Alexis Lombre: Yeah he’s great. You know I was just two grades younger than Vic Mensa, Chance the Rapper. And I remember growing up and watching them, watching how they were writing music and putting music out and tuning.

PAN M 360: In Jazz you have Makaya McRaven or Marquis Hill or Junior Paul.

Alexis Lombre: Those are all my big brothers !

PAN M 360: So you play with them sometimes in Chicago, I suppose.

Alexis Lombre: Yeah, actually we’re all playing soon (in August) at We Out Here Fest in the UK. We’re doing a tribute to the late producer Charles Stepney.

PAN M 360: Do you still live in Chicago ?

Alexis Lombre: No I’m now based in Los Angeles. Yeah I just wanted to see something new, you know? I’m young and I don’t have no kids and I’m not married, so I can just kind of be anywhere.

PAN M 360: Let’s try to pinpoint some other influences of your craft, to be more precise.

Alexis Lombre: Sure ! Well, you know, I’m really inspired by many artists. I remember when Solange released A Seat at the Table. Don’t Touch My Hair was my song. I also love Erykah Badu. She really inspired me as a songwriter. And there is D’Angelo you know. And Thundercat. And nu soul, experimental stuff like Flying Lotus or Georgia Anne Muldrow. And Kendrick Lamar of course.

PAN M 360: What is the way you play and create ?

Alexis Lombre: I’m definitely someone who is a composer, an arranger, a producer. I produce all of my own stuff. Self-produced, independent. And, yeah, I think a lot of my music covers my spiritual journey, such as Come Find Me, was about, you know, finding the inner light. And finding God within me.

PAN M 360: Did you have a gospel background in your family?

Alexis Lombre: Funny enough, the first time I felt the Holy Spirit was in a jazz club.

PAN M 360: Really?

Alexis Lombre : So I didn’t grow up in church per se, but I’ve definitely had experiences where I felt the Holy Spirit in the jazz clubs on the south side of Chicago. So my experience is a little more unique. I’m probably one of the only Black musicians from the U.S. who didn’t, like, primarily grow up in church, but you still hear it in my sound. I liked to sleep on Sunday mornings, I just didn’t feel like it, you know? So, you know, it was just that simple. I’m just not a morning person, yeah. It’s just that simple.

PAN M 360: Well, it fits well with your profession.

Alexis Lombre: Yeah, exactly. I’m definitely a night owl and somebody who is very sensitive and, you know, very… I love writing songs. I’ve been songwriting since I was 10 years old. A lot of the songs that I’ve written on my first album, South Side Sounds, I wrote in high school !

Photo : Benoit Rousseau

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On Friday July 11, the Festival Nuits d’Afrique welcomes a South African rapper well established in his country: Stogie T, real name Tumi Molekane. This will be his second visit to Montreal, his first as a solo artist. Stogie T has no tongue in cheek, and has tons to say about his life, his career and South Africa, a country whose destiny remains complicated, despite the end of the racist Apartheid regime 31 years ago. It’s not every day you meet a rapper from this country. Our contributor Michel Labrecque spoke to him about all these different aspects. Fasten your seatbelts!

PANM360: Stogie T, tell us a little bit about yourself, you were born in Tanzania, grew up in South Africa and have been rapping for over twenty years!

Stogie T: You’ve said it all, I’ve got nothing more to add (laughs). I was born in Tanzania to South African parents in exile. I may have been conceived in Russia, when my parents were there for military training. But I have no family ties with Tanzania; I lived there until I was 12, when we returned home.

PANM360: So your parents were anti-Apartheid activists? Did that have an impact on you?

Stogie T: Exactly, my father was a pastor who became a soldier in the ANC (African National Congress, now the ruling party). But he died when I was a year old. But my mother was very involved in the struggle, right up to the end. There was always this idea of the “promised land” and that I had to find a goal. That’s been my framework right up to the present day. I just had to find my own way.

If I compare myself to a pair of glasses, this mission idea was the frame, hip hop my lens, and then finding my own voice meant getting rid of the glasses (laughs) and discovering my own vision.

PANM360: In South Africa, you lived in Soweto, the huge black neighborhood on the outskirts of Johannesburg. How did music and rap come into your life?

Stogie T: Mainly by walking the streets, playing basketball and talking to family members. When I listened to rap music as a kid, I wanted to go further. When a rapper mentioned Miles Davis, I wanted to hear it, when it talked about AK-47, I wanted to know more (laughs), but my musical range expanded, while remaining centered on rap.

And since I wasn’t good at sports or skateboarding, hip hop helped me climb the social ladder of testosterone-filled adolescence. Little by little, I freed myself from American rap influences to tell stories about my community and my country.

PANM360: In 2004, you formed a band called Tumi and the Volume, which became famous in South Africa and toured all over the world. It was an adventure that lasted almost a decade.

Stogie T: At the time, we represented what people were calling the “new South Africa”; a white guitarist from Mozambique, a white Jew, a black man rapping about Nelson Mandela (the first post-Apartheid black president), it was a breath of fresh air. Our international tours also allowed me to share the stage with greats like Salif Keita and Manu Dibango. It opens your ears and makes you admire the great African musicians.

On the other hand, there’s one hurdle we’ve had trouble getting over. Abroad, a South African band always has to carry a political message. For me, this became a cage. Because I’m South African, I can’t write a song about flowers or butterflies! Politics is important, but it’s not the only thing in life.

PANM360: In 2012 Tumi and the Volume disbanded, and in 2015 Stogie T’s debut album was released.

Stogie T: The split was amicable and we’re still friends. Afterwards, I discovered that I was suffering from “cyniscosis”, the disease of cynics, which I self-diagnosed (laughs). Because South Africa’s liberation project turned into a comic tragedy. Most of the politicians we admired when we were young turned out to be corrupt, made fools of themselves. We believed that the magic of Mandela would make this rainbow nation immune to imbecility. But in the end, we’re just as greedy and full of shit as humans are.

PANM360: So, Stogie T is back to political lyrics. Your latest EP, released recently, is called Lasours, which is a title in French: la source.

Stogie T: Yes, I made this album with a musician from Reunion Island, Aleksand Saya, who comes from this place called Lasours. He’s an incredible musician and producer who mixes maloya music, a style from the island, with electronica. I loved working with him.

PANM360: In addition to this latest offering, you’ve released four albums. How is Lasours different?

Stogie T: I’m talking about the violence in South Africa, one song is dedicated to a young rapper who was murdered, it’s also about Reunion Island, a French department not so far from South Africa. People shouldn’t forget their roots, even when they go to study in Paris. We also hear Ntsika, a great South African singer who is part of a famous acapella group.

PANM360: What will we hear at your July 11 concert at Balattou?

Stogie T: You’ll hear a mix of hip-hop, African music, jazz and soul. With a wonderful singer called Bonj, to whom, frankly, I’m more of an accompanist (laughs). I don’t think anyone is like us, for better or for worse (laughs).

My band and I are already in Montreal, there’s so much to do, I hope my band will still be up and running on the 11th.

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Belgian-Colombian group La Chiva Gantiva mixes traditional Colombian rhythms, rock, hip-hop and electro in an explosive cocktail. Born in Brussels, they have earned an international reputation for their incomparable stage energy and unique sound. Now on their fourth album, the band is part of the Festival Nuits d’Afrique line-up and will perform at Club Balattou on July 8, 2025, the festival’s opening day. Rafael Espinel spoke to PAN M 360 contributor Michel Labrecque.

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Thundercat is undoubtedly THE jazz bass star of the nujazz world, but this notoriety is also due to his associations with Kendrick Lamar and his jazz friends, including Kamasi Washington. Meanwhile, there are other superbassists of the same generation who make less of a media splash and play just as well. Such is the case of Derrick Hodge, African-American bass virtuoso invited to Studio TD on July 1. Many knew him alongside Robert Glasper in the zero-ties, and jazz and groove aficionados have not lost track of him. Playing as a power trio (bass, drums and keyboards), Derrick Hodge delivered a solid performance to the free concert audience, inspired by an important album released on the Blue Note label: Color of Noize, the subject of this conversation with this excellent musician.

PAN M 360 : So let’s talk about the recent work. How is it going? How was the production aspect, the composition aspect, and how is it translated on stage now?

Derrick Hodge: Yeah, glad you asked. Color of Noize, man, it started as an idea. It started as, you know, pre-COVID and through COVID, there was a lot of just discussion. I thought people had just free time.

PAN M 360: Yeah. Everybody composed a lot at that time.

Derrick Hodge: Yeah, yeah, and I read and see a lot of descriptions of myself and kind of how I’ve been prescribed and defined, and I just noticed the diversity of that. Yeah, there’s a diversity of that and what people are saying and how rare I actually take time to actually think about that myself and how little I even really, even after seeing that, how much I cared about that. It was just like, no, I’m just being myself. So in that, it started with taking some of those words and realizing, man, maybe that’s an emotion in itself. And that’s what Color of Noize is about.

It was like seeing some people might say something kindly about me that they also may have said things negative about others and not even knowing, I respected that sound that they’re speaking of. I’m actually a product of all of these things. I’m a melting pot. And I really try to allow that

PAN M 360: It’s also a reflexion about noise as a concept.

Derrick Hodge: Yes. What is noise? You know, what is colour? What is beautiful? What is harmonic? Our perception is always changing.

PAN M 360: So Color of Noise is accepting the sound where it happens, and being here and now, right in the moment.

Derrick Hodge: That’s what this is all about.

PAN M 360: What you did achieve, we know, we can comment on, and we can have different versions, as you say, different perceptions, different emotions reacting to your craft, to your work, and some performance you’ve presented in front of us.

Derrick Hodge: And that’s a beautiful thing because it’s a very human thing. It’s a real thing that, you know, so acceptance, it was about acceptance, accepting that and finding the beauty in it. And that, what the opportunity was right in front of me was my upcoming Blue Note record with Don Was – also president of Blue Note Records. I wanted him to produce it with me. I wanted it to be about Color of Noize and really document that experience.

PAN M 360: The process of this album, released in 2020, was singular, wasn’t it ?

Derrick Hodge: People don’t realize they’re listening to first takes through the whole record. We recorded that entire album in about 18 hours. And it was more so about me explaining that idea, I would play the themes that I’d worked on, and then let’s see where we land with the sheet music and every musician on that record. The album features Jahari Stampley and Michael Aaberg on keys, Mike Mitchell and Justin Tyson on drums, and DJ Jahi Sundance on turntables. I played myself bass, keys, guitar and vocals. They all took that and really owned it in a way where I couldn’t have controlled it if I did it myself. It was just like, no, it’s gotta be this. It was about letting go.

PAN M 360: Yeah you let them play. And that’s what’s led to the expansion of Color of Noize.

Derrick Hodge: Yeah, and I’m thinking about other projects, and that idea of Color of Noise, self-love, acceptance, that was on the mind even back then when I was working on that years ago. So to see it now full circle, the idea of self-love coming through by musicians, if I don’t meet a single symphonic player, they’re honouring the music in that way, because I’ve tried to take care as if each moment meant something.

PAN M 360: Can we pinpoint some colours that are more prominent, I would say? Not trying to describe the whole thing, but some sources of inspiration.

Derrick Hodge: So I’ll say that that is truly the thing. Color of Noise is truly about whatever you take from it when you hear it, I’m totally fine with how that’s defined. The people who are playing it, for example, like I said, when we recorded that, they had no preconception. We just made sure everything was set up. The drummer who arrived didn’t even know.

PAN M 360: They didn’t know they were going to be playing two drum sets.

Derrick Hodge: They didn’t know. So it was about true acceptance.

PAN M 360: You did the setup, and they jumped in.

Derrick Hodge: They jumped in. And what people are hearing is truly them taking it and embracing it. But it’s an artistic direction in the same time.

PAN M 360: Yeah you let them free, but you have prepared the sessions.

Derrick Hodge: So the guidance is showing them the genesis of, this was the period of what that idea is. I would let them hear, oh, this idea, this was the theme I worked on at my PM. I would let them hear that, not even hearing how I’d like the final result to be with them.

I just let them hear that, and they had the sheet music. And where we landed was truly how they embraced that within their lens. They were actually reacting to each other.

And as the pieces went, as we ended them, just calling out endings as we got there. But that’s been the beauty of it, and that’s what’s allowed the Color of Noise sound. The moment someone thinks they can define it fully, they might be able to define the record version, but that’s totally different than the orchestras that’re touring the country right now.

That’s totally different from the string quartet that I’m doing.

PAN M 360: Yeah, you can have different versions of the same compositions in different sizes, different instrumentation, different orchestrations.

Kendrick Hodge: Right, right, right. But the same root. Kind of. I mean, so when you see the performance, the start of Color of Noise was certain music, but it really does vary.

So the root might be my composition, or it might be even using an orchestra, but completely other sounds, other things, other compositions where I put on my arrangement hat and go within that framework. It’s really about saying, okay, you know what? Really, if we throw these same people into different situations with me, let’s see where we land.

PAN M 360: Let’s present the setup of this actual tour.

Kendrick Hodge: Yeah, tonight’s going to be, it’s fun, it’s the trio. Mason Guidry, who is one of my favorite musicians, a drummer, incredible, I’ve known him his whole life. His dad put me on my first recording session, I believe at 13, 14 years old. It’s come full circle now that his son and I are playing together. He’s just an orchestra all in himself. And Bigyuki (Masayuki Hirano), who is one of my favorite musicians, creative, just a free thinker, creative. I don’t even want to say he’s a keyboard player, he’s a sonic orchestra. So between the three of us, we start that dance. I react to the energy of the audience. It could be from the first clap. If it’s something different, I see.

PAN M 360: You can shift.

Derrick Hodge: Yeah, totally shift. And that might be from the very first song. So it’s very Color of Noise focused where I give them a journey into my process of making that record and how they respond. That’s what the band situation is. I throw themes and then do variations of it.

PAN M 360: Excellent ! So it’s a power trio version this time.

Derrick Hodge: Absolutely. Yeah, and every time it’s different innately because they’re reacting based on how their day went.

PAN M 360: Do you have some favorite achievements during that cycle? In what kind of version or performance?

Derrick Hodge: You know, I haven’t gotten to that point yet. Well, it’s not important. Where there’s a favourite yet. I’ve really loved it because certain parts of it just remind me of kind of a sweet element of it all. Like, oh yeah, that was a moment. How I cracked that together for that record in succession to it. So I haven’t separated it to a point where certain parts of the show are a favourite. I’m loving it all, man!

Photo: Emmanuel Novak-Bélanger

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After dazzling audiences and critics alike in 2023 at the Festival de Lanaudière with Monteverdi’s masterful Orfeo, conductor Leonardo Garcia Alarcon and his Capella Mediterranea are back in 2025, on July 6 at the Amphitheatre. This time, Monteverdi’s final opera, The Coronation of Poppea, will be performed with more or less the same soloists, but a more sparing orchestra. I spoke to the conductor about this, and also about a second concert he will be giving on July 8, entitled Monteverdi and the Seven Deadly Sins. In three questions and answers, plunge into the world of Monteverdi, before being immersed in his music.

PanM360: Orfeo is a revolutionary opera, which Monteverdi created in the prime of life, at the age of 40. The Coronation of Poppea dates from the year before his death at the age of 76 in 1643. What are the differences between the two musical worlds?

Leonardo Garcia Alarcon: A lot has changed. In 1642, we are past 1637, which saw the creation of the first public opera in Venice, for which the composer wrote Poppea. So Monteverdi was writing for people who were generally younger and more diverse. Those people brought their dogs, they talked, they laughed—it was almost like a circus! Monteverdi adopted a more direct style, resorting to fashionable practices such as cross-dressing, and introduced parallel, lighter love stories known as ‘love satellites.’ Comedy also played an important role, as Monteverdi adapted to the popular style of commedia dell’arte.

Quite the opposite of Orfeo, written for the Court of Mantua, which is an almost sacred opera, in which the characters are associated with the ethical foundations of humanity, with questions of life and death. We ask ourselves how to resolve the passage from one state to the other, and we hear that the answer is music (even if, in the end, it fails). In reality, we are still in a Renaissance world. Poppea takes the audience elsewhere. For the first time in opera, we see and hear historical characters who really existed, not gods or myths. The ‘divine’ forces are still present (Virtue, Fortune and Love, who squabble over which has the most influence over humans), but the central roles are still played by historical figures, Nero, Poppea, Seneca, etc.

The social context was also different. The Opera aroused the mistrust, even hostility, of the Pope. In fact, the Pope cancelled the institution in Rome. But Venice jealously guarded its independence, and so took the liberty of standing up to the Pope. Poppea was therefore a major step forward for the new artform. Finally, opera is now a business. You have to sell tickets, and you have to keep production costs to a minimum in order to be profitable! That’s why we can’t afford a huge orchestra like in Orfeo at the time. Meanwhile, the composer Francesco Cavalli was writing operas that were ruining him, so much so that production costs were outstripping income. He was forced to marry a rich lady who acted as his patron! So, all the rules of business are becoming inevitable.

PanM360: Let’s talk about the orchestration of Poppea. It has been a problem for a long time. Nikolaus Harnoncourt studied the subject extensively and left a famous vision of the thing. But it remains personal. So you had to make some choices. Which ones and why?

Leonardo Garcia Alarcon: Harnoncourt clearly opts for an Orfeo-style construction, with a large orchestra. This is also the nature of one of the manuscripts that have come down to us, which corresponds to a score owned by Cavalli (the composer mentioned earlier). It is a more sumptuous version of the writing, probably used for performances in Naples. Ironically, this version contributed to the birth and subsequent flourishing of so-called “Neapolitan” opera. For my part, I have chosen to work closer to the original, the one from the premiere, which is not available, but from which we can deduce the outlines. These give us information about a relatively small orchestra. For the economic reasons mentioned earlier. To this I have added a few colours that are not foreign to Monteverdi, when we know what power of suggestion he gave to various instruments in the transmission of precise emotions. We can therefore assume a very small orchestra, with two violins, a lute (or two) and a harpsichord, to which my personal choice adds cornets, flutes and a harp. It seems to me that this corresponds both to a very precise historical situation and to a well-argued expressive ideal.

PanM360: That’s on July 6 at 4 p.m. at the Amphithéâtre. On July 8, at the Saint-Jacques church, you’ll be giving Monteverdi and the Seven Deadly Sins. What is it, and why do it?

Leonardo Garcia Alarcon: The idea for this programme came to me when I was doing a long residency at the Teatro Malibran in Venice. It’s a superb place, where you’re surrounded by magnificent works of art, many of them on the theme of the deadly sins. I made the connection with the time of the composition of The Coronation of Poppea, during which Monteverdi also wrote La selva morale e spirituale. La selva is like an antithesis to Poppea. It is moral and virtuous, while Poppea is quite the opposite. So, a bit like the Deadly Sins vs the Cardinal Virtues. Knowing that the Seven Deadly Sins are a papal creation from the 13th century (Italian, in other words), I thought it would be fascinating to delve into Monteverdi’s entire operatic, sacred and popular repertoire in order to extract the parts that illustrate each of these aspects, and then put together a coherent programme. And then there’s something even more fascinating about these loathed faults than the “desirable” virtues. They invite drama and powerful emotions. Just as today we know far more about Dante’s Inferno than his Paradise, which is of no interest to us at all.

DETAILS FOR L’INCORONAZION DI POPPEA, 6 JULY AT THE FESTIVAL DE LANAUDIÈRE

DETAILS FOR MONTEVERDI AND THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS, 8 JULY AT THE LANAUDIÈRE FESTIVAL

Artistes

Sophie Junker, soprano (Poppea)

Nicolò Balducci, countertenor (Nerone)

Mariana Flores, soprano (Ottavia, Virtú)

Christopher Lowrey, countertenor (Ottone)

Edward Grint, bass-baritone (Seneca)

Samuel Boden, tenor (Arnalta, Nutrice, Damigella, Famigliare I)

Lucía Martín Cartón, soprano (Fortuna, Drusilla)

Juliette Mey, mezzo-soprano (Amore, Valletto)

Valerio Contaldo, tenor (Lucano, Soldato I, Famigliare II, Tribuno)

Riccardo Romeo, tenor (Liberto, Soldato II, Tribuno)

Yannis François, bass-baritone (Mercurio, Littore, Famigliare III)

Cappella Mediterranea

Leonardo García Alarcón, conductor

From now on, when you hear “soul mandingo”, you’ll think of Tyrane Mondeny, this versatile artist originally from Côte d’Ivoire, now on her third visit to the metropolis. She started out dancing, plays different types of drums and sings solo or with groups of women artists. After an initial visit as part of the Festival afropolitain nomade in June 2024, she returned to play at Club Balattou in November of the same year, and now features in the line-up for this year’s Festival Nuits d’Afrique, this time on an outdoor stage. Our journalist Sandra Gasana spoke to her live from Abidjan for PAN M 360.

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Quebec-born Gabriella Olivo offers a soaring sound at the confluence of Latin traditions and modernity. Fluent in French, English and Spanish, the young artist impresses with the delicacy of her voice and the sincerity of her art.

Backed by the excellent A todos mis amores, her second microalbum, the Quebecoise took to the biggest stage of the Festival de Jazz de Montréal last Friday. The result: an enveloping, gentle performance. Radio-Canada Revelation of the Year 2025-2026, Gabriella is on the rise on the Quebec music scene. It’s a safe bet that her next album, expected towards the end of 2026, will propel her even further.

Born of the union of a Mexican mother and a Quebecois father, she fashions a hybrid music that is deeply personal. “I marry traditional sounds like classical guitars with cumbia or reggaeton rhythms. I’m influenced by indie rock, folk and electro-indie,” she confides.

Recorded for the most part in Mexico City, A todos mis amores plunges us into the heart of his mother’s hometown. Created in collaboration with the Mijares brothers, the arrangements of percussion, guitars and synthesizers are hypnotic. A todos mis amores is savored from start to finish, and leaves you wanting more.

PAN M 360: Hi, you’re one of six Révélations Radio-Canada this season. What does this honor mean to you?

Gabriella Olivo: I feel truly blessed and touched to have been selected from among so many talented artists. For me, it’s a wonderful recognition that soothes a little the imposter syndrome I sometimes feel as an artist. At the moment, I’m writing my very first album, so it’s a great boost and a pat on the back to keep going.

PAN M 360: For those who are just discovering you, how did your passion for music come about?

Gabriella Olivo: My relationship with music began very early. I started taking piano lessons at the age of 7 and never really stopped. I also played trumpet and saxophone in high school; I was in vocal jazz and in a choir, Les Petits Chanteurs de Charlesbourg. Music has always been a part of me, but it intensified when I moved to Montreal. Before, it was a hobby. During the pandemic, I took the time to write and produce my own songs.

PAN M 360: With two EPs to your credit and an album in the pipeline, how would you describe your musical universe?

Gabriella Olivo: It’s a mixture of several genres. I blend traditional sounds like classical guitars with cumbia or reggaeton rhythms. In CEGEP, my musical awakening was heavily influenced by indie rock, folk and electro-indie. My long-time favorite band is Beach House – I love those textures and synths. I like to mix it all up: modernity, digital and analog effects, autotune… In short, it’s a happy mix of textures, genres and also languages, as I alternate between French, English and Spanish.

PAN M 360: You navigate between three languages in your songs. What does this allow you to express?

Gabriella Olivo: Spanish has a romantic richness in its lyricism. French is very pure. When I write, it comes naturally, I don’t think too much about it. It’s organic, and each language supports the emotion specific to each piece.

PAN M 360: You mentioned in an interview that, although your mother is of Mexican descent, your interest in Latin music came from within. What is it about these sounds that attracts you?

Gabriella Olivo: I’ve traveled a lot to Mexico in recent years, so I’ve heard a lot of it. Mariachi really comes to me… boleros too. They’re sounds that really move me and that I love. I drew on these influences in a very instinctive way.

PAN M 360: Your latest project, A todos mis amores, is a superb six-track EP released last October. What universe would you like to transport your listeners into?

Gabriella Olivo: It’s a melancholy, nostalgic, dreamy, soaring universe. As you say, I like to take people on a journey with my music. I’m very focused on the musical arrangements, more than on the lyrics – that’s what comes first, and it’s always been that way. That’s still true of my first album, although I take more care with my lyrics now.

PAN M 360: You recorded the majority of this EP in Mexico City, your mother’s hometown. How is this trip reflected in the project?

Gabriella Olivo: I think you can really feel the energy of Mexico City, but in a contemporary version. I worked with Santiago Mijares, a well-known producer down there, and his brother Patricio. They’re both extremely talented musicians, composers and songwriters. You can feel the vibe of the city in the instruments, especially as most of them were played by Santiago. I’d say that’s the imprint of the trip – except for the piece Tonterías, recorded in Montreal with Léo Leblanc.

PAN M 360: You also played a few instruments on this EP, didn’t you?

Gabriella Olivo: Yes, I played some of the guitars and synths. It was really a collaborative effort. I always come up with demos that are already well advanced. Then, with Santiago, we reworked them. A lot of the lines and scores had already been written.

PAN M 360: The St-Valentin piece immediately grabs your attention. What’s its story?

Gabriella Olivo: Funny you should mention that one! I wrote it about six years ago, at a time when I never thought I’d have a career in music. It was in the midst of a burst of creativity and heartbreak. I’d recorded it on GarageBand, and then it stayed in my archives. I played it to Santiago, who loved it immediately, and we reworked it in the Mexico City style.

PAN M 360: What are the themes running through this EP?

Gabriella Olivo: In my last two EPs, I talk a lot about relationships. There’s also a song about mourning. But right now, I’m writing more about family, and I’m tending towards more committed lyrics, more rooted in current affairs. Less romanticism, let’s say!

PAN M 360: And what’s next?

Gabriella Olivo: I’ve got a lot of shows this summer, and I’ll be traveling around Quebec and even New Brunswick. And between shows, I’m working on my first album. If all goes well, it should be out by the end of 2026.

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Amid the sea of polished jazz acts and seasoned crooners at this year’s Montreal Jazz Festival, one band that brings a jolt of raw, insurgent energy is Empanadas Illegales. With their fusion of cumbia, punk, and political protest, the Vancouver-based group will turn their outdoor set into a sweaty, dance-fueled call to action. Before their explosive performance, we sat down with the band to talk about their roots, their message, and why making noise—musically and socially—matters more than ever. Fresh off the release of their new album Sancocho Trifásico, the band has sharpened both their sound and their political voice, doubling down on themes of migration, identity, and grassroots defiance. We caught up with the group to talk about the new record, their musical roots, and what it means to be “illegal” in 2025, before they play Jazzfest on July 2.

PAN M 360: What inspired the title Sancocho Trifiasco? Is there a story behind the name?

Daniel Hernandez: Sancocho is a traditional Latin American stew that has many ingredients and flavours, and in Colombia, there is a particular kind that is called Sancocho Trifiásco, which contains three different kinds of meats. Our album uses references to this, as the album was recorded in three different sessions and also has a myriad of sounds and flavours, which resembles the sancocho soup.

PAN M 360: Yes, this album feels like a sonic stew—chaotic, flavorful, and layered. How did you approach blending so many genres (cumbia, psych, etc) and textures?

Daniel Hernandez: Our goal is to honour our Latin American folkloric roots, and we also embrace all the new modern sounds and musical styles. When we create our music, we want to explore with different sounds while keeping true to our roots. This kind of experimentation led us to incorporate synths, effects and ambient techniques into our songs, which usually are guided by rhythm and groove. We want to make people feel like they are dancing to something familiar, while feeling the surprise of the experimentation in our sound.

PAN M 360: There’s the opening vocal track “Suto Ta Kandá (de las 4 a las 12),” why did you decide to add vocals and not throughout the album?

Daniel Hernandez: “Suto Ta Kandá” marks a pivotal moment for Empanadas Ilegales, as it is the first track where vocals take center stage in our music. It also introduces our new musical collaborator, drummer and producer Daniel Ruiz, merging his solo project Druiz with contributions from Canadian multi-instrumentalist Myles Bigelow and Colombian Jerlin Torres Salgado from San Basilio de Palenque. At the heart of this song is Palenquero, a rare and historically significant Afro-Colombian language that traces its roots back to the first free African town in the Americas. This track may be one of the first-ever releases in Canada featuring Palenquero, making it a truly unique musical and cultural moment. Suto Ta Kandá fuses traditional Colombian folk music with experimental sounds, bridging past and future while amplifying a language and legacy that deserve global recognition

PAN M 360: There’s a strong sense of both celebration and resistance in the music. What themes were you most passionate about expressing?

Daniel Hernandez: Our goal is to remind our audience of the connection we all have with music. Music is something that is ingrained in our DNA as humans, and when we get to share a musical experience, it brings connection within us. We aim to create a connection from our audience to the music, to dancing and having fun while letting all worries disappear for a moment. Music can be a source for connection, community building and freedom. It is liberating and can help us find a stronger connection as living beings, so when we play our music, we aim to help create a stronger human bond within all of us, while having a really good time dancing and enjoying the music.

PAN M 360: How do food, folklore, and community play into your creative process? Your name alone suggests something both tasty and radical.

Daniel Hernandez: We all love food in the band and we definitely use food references a lot, haha. We also use folklore tales for our song names and we use some of these names to remind ourselves of things that are important for our cultures and food is usually a good place to start. For example, empanadas have versions all over different countries in latin america and the world (think of Perogies or Dumplings) and we think that this is a resemblance of the cultural diversities all over the world that should be embraced. We are all empanadas, but have different fillings and we all can live together in harmony with our own little differences.

PAN M 360: Were empanadas actually illegal at one point in Colombia or is that bullshit?

Daniel Hernandez: Haha yes they were. In Bogotá there was a time when street vendors were banned, therefore some people started selling their empanada still in the street and they were calling them illegal empanadas.

PAN M 360: Your live shows must be wild and immersive. What’s the ideal audience reaction you’re hoping for?

Daniel Hernandez: Our goal is to create such a carefree and joyous environment, that people that come to the show forget about all their problems and let themselves be free on the dancefloor, by dancing and being part of the music with us.

PAN M 360: Have you collaborated with any other artists or collectives that pushed your sound further? What’s the weirdest venue or gig you’ve ever played?

Daniel Hernandez: We have done some really fun collaborations with other artists. For example, one time for Halloween, we performed a Spice Girls song with our homies in NADUH and it was a very spicy and fun performance and we joked on calling ourselves EmapaNADUHs. Hahaha we might actually go back and try to record the song together, we shall see. As for weird places we have played, a few come to mind… A mall parking lot, an old bank vault/warehouse, on a stage with a big tree growing in the middle of it. We love playing in weird places and hope to continue doing so

PAN M 360: If your music were a dish, other than empanadas, what would it be and why?

Daniel Hernandez: Gotta say that a Sancocho would be a good option. Full of flavour, lots of ingredients, hearty, filling, delicious and nurturing for the body and soul.

PAN M 360: What do you hope someone who’s never heard you before takes away from this album?

Daniel Hernandez: We hope they let themselves get driven by the melodies and grooves and it makes them want to come see us live and have the whole in person Empanadas Ilegales experience. Our music is designed to be experienced on the dance floor.

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Meggie Lennon’s new album, Desire Days, has only just been released on the Mothland label, and the bilingual singer-songwriter is making her FIJM debut this Monday, June 30, 11pm, on the Club Montréal / Loto-Québec stage, as well as opening for Cat Empire on Wednesday, July 2, 8.30pm, at MTelus. Meggie Lennon’s hushed vocals and sensual demeanor have made her mark on the Quebec indie scene, and the new chapter in her dream pop could leave a deeper mark, given the maturity she’s acquired and the freshness still tangible in this Quebec-born Montreal artist. All the more reason for this video conversation with Alain Brunet.

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As this neologism suggests, also the name of a jazz quartet invited to the FIJM, makes perfect sense: Upendo pulls out all the stops, indeed! The Baltimore quartet is made up of Brandon Woody, trumpet and leader, Troy Long, piano, Michael Saunders, double bass, Quincy Phillips, drums.

Jazz coolness will soon be back, thanks to artists like these who pick up the style where it’s left off.

Sunday night on the Pub Molson stage, two sets by Brandon Woody and his colleagues reminded us of the virtues of African-American heritage. The cultural foundations of this black jazz remain glued to soul, R&B and gospel, while exploring new avenues in today’s jazz territory paved by the great innovators of previous generations.

Dissonances and atonal trajectories are limited here to the soloists’ improvisations (especially the trumpet), while the rest is consonant and very strong in rhythm. The melodies of the themes reassure music lovers disinclined to explore, and this is the dosage generally desired by FIJM: adventurous but not too much so, strong in emotion, contagious enough to revive the form.

And that’s exactly why PAN M 360 offers this on-the-spot interview with Brandon Woody.

PAN M 360: I listened a lot to your music recently, preparing this interview, and there’s, well, all the African American experience is in it. You have the gospel, you have the soul, you have the modern jazz, you experience new harmonic issues, so you’re really in the lineage of your culture. You are really connected with your ancestors, your parents, your grandparents, etc.

Brandon Woody: Yeah, I mean, I don’t think I have a choice. Anybody that’s black, you know… I don’t even to be connected to the lineage of my ancestors. No, no, it happens. It’s in my blood, you know. you said, gospel, jazz, soul or funk. It’s even more than that. I’m inspired by all music that exists in the world.

PAN M 360: Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah, it’s honestly hard to describe it.

Brandon Woody: I’d rather you not try to describe it. Like, just let it be what it is.

PAN M 360: Yeah, well… we have to put some words, we know also that words are not exactly describing what happens. For sure. But at the same time, we talk about it and we chose some words to do so.

Brandon Woody: You know, this music means everything to me. Every time we get on stage, I give it my all, you know. I play like it’s my last time playing in life, you know, every time. The whole world is inspiring this music.

PAN M 360: Let’s talk about the evolution of your sound, the way you lead an orchestra, the way you developed your own craft, your own signature.

Brandon Woody: I played drums when I was like, what, five, six years old. And just for one year, and I was in elementary school, and I had did this talent competition, and I sucked, and I lost. I didn’t win it, and I quit drums after that. And then I got into the next school year, and my two options for instruments that I could play were saxophone and trumpet. And I just fell in love with the trumpet. I thought that was going to be the easier instrument because it only had three keys. So that’s why I picked it. Yeah, and I couldn’t make a note out of the trumpet until like, for like two weeks.

PAN M 360: And I finally… It’s a very hard instrument to play with.

Brandon Woody: Yeah, I finally got a note out of it, and then he let me take it home, let me rent the instrument, and I just fell in love with it, man. I remember at a young age, me and my mom and my brother, we were living, moving to a lot of different apartment buildings. And I remember the folks at the apartment buildings would always be mad. They were like, yo, stop playing your horn. Stop. You’re too loud. All of this different stuff. My mom was so good with it because she would just tell them like, no. She was just like, no, these hours of my son practicing right now are more important than you having a quiet evening. So I really appreciate that.

PAN M 360: Your mom protected you !

Brandon Woody: Yeah, she protected me and made sure that me and my brother, my big brother, were in all of the great music programs in Baltimore and outside.

PAN M 360: What did you study in Baltimore?

Brandon Woody: There was this program called the Eubie Blake Jazz Institute. That’s how I met Craig Austin, one of my OGs. I went to the Peabody Preparatory program. They have a whole thing called the Tuned In Program there for youth, for underserved youth in Baltimore. And then I went to the Baltimore School for the Arts. I also went to Brubeck Institute in Stockton, California. Then I went to Manhattan School of Music in New York. I dropped out after. Then I moved back to Baltimore in 2018. And that’s when I started building my band up.

PAN M 360: And how about the building of this band?

Brandon Woody: Yeah, friends, family. Yeah, family. I mean, we were living right down the street from each other. We didn’t even know it. We linked up. I saw Quincy one day playing and I was like, yo, I need his sound. Met Mike. We had this monthly gig at An Die Music and we were able to truly just be ourselves, just experiment and make mistakes. That was like eight years ago, so the sound has been built naturally, progressively with the same family.

PAN M 360: And it happened naturally. You don’t question it. It happens.

Brandon Woody: Yeah, yeah. Literally, before you know it, it’s like, wow, we got our own sound, you know, that nobody else has. It’s like our DNA, you know. I’m very blessed to have just a group of supportive band members. You know, everybody puts something into this. Yeah, my name is up on the stage or whatever, but like, this is a band. It’s a collective. This is a family. So we all put something into it.

PAN M 360: And if we try to be a little more specific, what makes it distinct?

Brandon Woody: I mean, just the unique experiences that we have growing up in the same city. That’s why we’re able to connect with each other the way that we do. But also, I think everybody from my city, in some ways, I feel like I’m an ambassador, like spreading positivity. I feel like in some ways I’m a ambassador just because Baltimore gets looked at in such a negative way worldwide. You know, a lot of people talk about the violence. And I’m just like, man, I want to be a positive light.

So when we’re out here together, it’s like, man, I think anybody from Baltimore that leaves the city, we all just want to put a positive light on the city, man. You know, and I do think like not just, you know, I know there’s so many excellent artists out here for sure, but I think just us being ourselves is the most courageous thing we can do. And like me just showing up here right now, you know, with my with my band members.

PAN M 360: So you draw from this daily experience.

Brandon Woody: YeahI think I think something that’s been freeing for me is to like know and also trust that me and my band just showing up is enough. That’s literally more than enough.You know what I’m saying?

That’s as big as it gets and it’s powerful. It’s so powerful. I’m so wrapped up with the music itself, the experience. You just got to feel this music. You got to come to a show. You got to shake my hand. You know, you got to just come have some fun with us and move and dance because it’s like I think right now in my life, I’m doing so much like interviewing and like talking and stuff. And I’m like, man, y’all just need to come see us.

PAN M 360: The final answer is to listen to the music.

Brandon Woody: Yeah. We’re able to be as honest as possible and vulnerable as possible is because we spend all this time developing with each other. And I do feel like, you know, when we’re traveling out here throughout the country, it’s like, man, everything that I’m doing is going back on to my city. So I’m like trying to make sure that what we’re doing is positive. But I’m just so grateful the way I was raised. You know, it takes a village to raise a man. OK, it takes a community. I was raised good, man. I’m respectful. I spread love.

PAN M 360: About the music again: can we talk about very strong influences or it’s not relevant?

Brandon Woody: Valjohn Harris from Baltimore. Craig Austin from Baltimore. Mark Harris from Baltimore. Quincy Phillips from Baltimore. Gary Thomas from Baltimore.Tim Green from Baltimore. Tim Green from Baltimore. Clarence Ward from Baltimore. Yeah, a lot of my biggest influences come from the city of Baltimore. However, I have other big influences as well. Very inspired by Freddie Hubbard, Booker Little, Clifford Brown. More recently O’m very inspired by Terence Blanchard, Ambrose Akimusire, Keyon Harrold, Christian Scott. All of these trumpet players.

PAN M 360: Do you have some challenges as an instrumentalist to develop your own style?

Brandon Woody: Shit, man, I got to keep practicing the horn every day.

It’s hard. I got to breathe. I smoke weed sometimes to relax. I get up and I practice my warm up routine. So my warm up routine is some chromaticism, some flexibility, some major scales, some articulation. All of that has to happen every single day.Of course, that’s not happening. I’m not doing my job.

PAN M 360: You have to keep your chops at its best level and also and put an emphasis to do your own evolution.

Brandon Woody : Yeah, and it’s not just about the technique, but a lot of it. The technique allows me to remove the boundaries from my plan. If I’m not worried about my technique, I can play whatever is on my mind.

It’s 5pm at the Esplanade Tranquille, the sun is beating down and festival-goers are creaming. A handful of passers-by – a mix of young families and workers just released from the office – form a sparse crowd. Then, refreshingly, ALICE takes to the stage.

She settles down behind her Crumar, a smile on her face, and can’t wait to start playing. The drawing power of her incandescent voice works instantly, and the crowd soon fills in. Curious onlookers on the sidelines are drawn into a line dance, led with gusto by ALICE.

So comfortable, so at home. What better way to close the Francos on a Saturday afternoon.

Alice Tougas St-Jak has been working under the name ALICE for only two years, a project she leads from the front, writing both music and lyrics. The self-assurance she exudes today is the result of ten years’ collaboration as singer and accordionist with the now-defunct Canaille – an eight- or nine-piece band where folk and bluegrass met in joyous, controlled chaos. Now she’s branching out into more intimate territory, without denying her country roots.

Good for us, it suits her. The accordion has given way to the keyboard. Bluegrass to rock. She may not have a driver’s license, but she knows how to drive. I met her just after her performance, behind the stage at Pub Brasseur Montréal. She’d just delivered a unanimously charmed set with her ALICE BAND, a solid, fit, well-coiffed, good-humored quartet. Her eyes still shining, she tells me she has plenty of juice left to answer my questions.

PAN M 360: Do you find the same rush – before, during and after the show – as in the Canaille days?

ALICE: The excitement will always be there. At the beginning, with ALICE, it was like starting all over again, I was quite nervous. At times, I was feverish, but in the best sense of the word. Just the excitement of being there with my gang. The big difference with the Canaille days is that now, I’m the one who carries the show and hosts. Before, even though I sometimes led, the pressure was shared.

I really think it must have helped me to have 10 years of show behind me. Right now, I really feel like I’m on my X!

PAN M 360: You decided to give the project your first name. After all these years in a band, did you feel like revealing yourself more, showing off more personally?

ALICE: Yes, that’s right. I felt the need to get into it. I started the solo project when Canaille was still active. The end of the band allowed me to devote more time to it. It’s my name, it’s me, I have to take responsibility for what comes out of it!

Not that I didn’t assume what I was doing with Canaille. I loved being in a band, and I’m glad I went through it, giving back to a song even if it’s not my own. As much as the nostalgia is there, it’s okay that it’s over. It was frantic, we did something like 700, 800 shows. As long as I wanted to do something else, I said to myself “ok, I’d like to be a leader”, and I like composing, even if it’s so much more work! But it’s all a lot more fun.

PAN M 360: Did you write any new songs with a view to releasing your EP, or were they lying dormant during your other projects?

ALICE: I composed one of the tunes during Canaille, but for the most part, it wasn’t sleeping. It took me a while to find my way! I just knew I wanted to drop the accordion and do something more rock.

PAN M 360: Speaking of accordions, I came across one of your biographies that described you as a clown-accordionist. What is a clown-accordionist?

ALICE: Ah haha yes, I studied theater. At the time, I had a friend who was a circus performer, so we decided to set up our own circus to do street entertainment at jazz festivals – in France, Denmark, Poland… It was very theatrical. German wheel, acrobatics, diabolo, juggling. I played the funny part, with the accordion and the mute clown character. I can’t remember the exact year… but I do remember that I turned 21 in Poland!

PAN M 360: Your 21st birthday party in Poland must have been memorable for you to use it as a landmark to situate yourself in time!

ALICE: Yes, I’ll always remember that! My first tour and my first trip without my mother. It prepared me for the Canaille tours afterwards. It was like a fairground haha! Bohemian, but very French, we cooked our salads on the sidewalk. Great memories.

PAN M 360: Is there anything you allow yourself today that you wouldn’t have dared earlier in your career?

ALICE: I used to be really into acoustics. I wouldn’t allow myself to do rock. I had a kind of impostor syndrome… I used to say to myself: “I don’t know enough about that myself”.

Let’s see, I’ve been listening to rock since I was 14, The Mamas & the Papas, The Beatles, The Stones. I’ve always been into ’60s and ’70s music, but it didn’t seem to be an option, maybe because I didn’t see many women doing it, and my voice isn’t particularly rock. I don’t sing like Janis Joplin!

I rock with my instrument, with my intention. Rock takes on any color you want, it’s very vast. Now I’m free to do what I want.

PAN M 360: Does your taste for that era come from your musical influences? Is it fed by a kind of nostalgia for an era you never knew?

ALICE: It reminds me of what I listened to as a teenager. I didn’t live it, but my mother did! There must be a photo of her at Woodstock, bobbing in a lake. I feel that nostalgia. At home, I collect vinyl, crockery, Pyrex and all sorts of useless retro stuff from the ’50s to the ’80s. The amber, the multicolored… those are the years I love!

PAN M 360: With ALICE, you’ve changed your register a little. Has your audience followed you in this turn, or are you reconnecting with new faces instead?

ALICE: Canaille or not Canaille, a lot of my friends come to see me. I know that some of them discovered me through Canaille and continue to follow me, and that means a lot to me. What I find great is seeing new people every time! The Francos are perfect for that: you hear music, it’s fun, it’s free. It really gives me energy. Some people say to me, “We feel like being your friend.

And while I’m playing, I see them smiling. That’s what gives me the fuel!

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