If you go somewhat regularly to small Montreal bars with live music (Balattou, Quai des Brumes, Petit Campus, L’Esco, Casa del Popolo, Turbo Haus, and so on), there is a good chance you have seen the name of Kallisto ensemble. The klezmer-rock-psycho-Anatolian quintet led by Jossée MacInnis on clarinet plays on just about every available stage. Above all, it celebrates Montreal in all its colourful fullness, its energetic incandescentness, and its cultural explosion, all anchored by a common bond of cosmopolitan Jewishness.
Evil Eye begins with a doina on the cello. The doina is a musical form inherited from Romania, blending Turkish influences. The rather subdued atmosphere suddenly gives way to an explosion of virulent energy, probably to symbolise the release of the concept of ayin hara in Jewish culture. Ayin hara (the Evil Eye) occurs when one fixates on an object or a person with too much intention or envy. The evil eye then damages the subject of the overly intense gaze. In short, something quite powerful violently breaks free and thus sweeps everything in its path.
Côte-des-Neiges pays tribute to the most cosmopolitan neighbourhood in Montreal by launching the celebration with the sound of the subway departing from the eponymous station. The theme melody is catchy and unifying.
Khosidl gives a nod to the Mile-End neighbourhood with a funky and powerful groove before the only cover on the album, Chameleon, which we had heard on the Live in Montreal released in 2025. A track that explicitly conveys the soul of this metropolis we love because, through its infinite facets, its millions of expressive and identity colours, it has a place for each and every one of us.
Yalla reports on a certain excitement you can feel downtown, while Ice Age Princess greets the Montreal winter, in all its rigour and often chaotic nature.
The five artists of the band, a tightly-knit quintet, shake up the soundscape with great efficiency. Their conviction in the authenticity of this modernised and transformed klezmer inspires adherence, whether one is Jewish or not, of course. And that’s what is so delightful.
Kallisto will be in concert at Quai des brumes on July 8 – INFO
Jossée MacInnis – clarinet, composer
Jefferson Perez – cello
Antoine Bensoussan – guitar
Patrick LeBrun – bass guitar
Edward Scrimger – drums
