In the Montreal Jazz Series published by Disques BG, here is volume 4, featuring Lorraine Desmarais and some solid acquaintances. Friends who are as much legends of Quebec jazz as she is: Éric Lagacé on double bass and Paul Brochu on drums. Another legend in his own right joins them, though less associated with jazz, even though his resumé in the field is also very respectable: Alain Trudel on trombone. Trudel, who is better known as a conductor, has also been a trombonist forever, in classical music of course, but also in jazz. He has a few albums to prove it.
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It is therefore in this quartet format that the great Lorraine generously sends us some well-crafted compositions along with revisits of jazz repertoire standards. The program of nine tracks is therefore supported by six pieces written by Lorraine, Alain, and Éric Lagacé, plus three covers (Nutville by Horace Silver, Well, You Needn’t by Monk, and There Will Never Be Another You by Harry Warren).
Other volumes of the Montreal Jazz Series to discover on Bandcamp
Web page of the series (BG Records)
The title is not misleading: we are here with friends who are having fun together while making sure to share the good vibes with us. Trudel stands out particularly in several tracks, such as his own composition How Do You Say?, where he demonstrates part of his astonishing technical abilities. We also enjoy hearing him in Well, You Needn’t where he elegantly juggles with the theme, occasionally relayed, or harmonically supported by Lorraine’s energetic piano, Lagacé’s playful double bass, and Brochu’s lively drums.
I could go on for a long time, describing each track, but it will suffice to summarise by saying that this is how it is from the beginning to the end of this delightful album, steeped in schooled and classic structure jazz (in the Hard Bop style, both for the covers and the compositions), and above all radiating good humour, discursive intelligence, technical refinement, and melodic pleasure.
