Away from the large crowd heading towards Patrick Watson’s concert, the spectators who had chosen the Molson Pub were treated throughout the evening to moments of varied and generous Latin music.
Follow me and you’ll understand that “everything is in everything,” as the poet Raoul Duguay said. At 7 p.m., Quebec trumpeter Rachel Therrien presented her Latin jazz show; in the middle of it, she introduced us to her “great friend” from Colombia, Anamaria Oramas. The two women embarked on a rather inspiring dialogue between flute and flugelhorn.
Once the show is over, I head towards Ste-Catherine Street, where Hilario Duran is preparing to deliver a solo piano performance, right in the middle of the street. Originally Cuban, Duran has lived in Toronto for two decades. Is he the best pianist living in Canada right now? The question deserves to be asked. A magnificent solo performance, a moment of grace, only spoiled by the too omnipresent presence of a speaker which broadcast totally different music, too close.
Back at the Molson Pub at 9 p.m., it was the turn of Colombian flautist Anamaria Oramas to take the stage. It was her first time at the FIJM, she told us in French tinged with Spanish, but after five minutes, she had won over a fairly large audience.
The flautist, who plays the transverse flute but also the typically Colombian gaita and the gauta, a sort of mixture of the two instruments, quickly made us understand that her music was a percussion jazz which encompasses all Colombian musical influences. And it worked very well.
Accompanied by an excellent trio of drums, double bass and electric guitar, Anamaria delivered original, vibrant music, which she presented as a form of resistance and freedom.
His country, Colombia, won its soccer match against Ghana while playing in Montreal. However, it has just elected a Donald Trump wannabe as its new president.
This always poses the dilemma of Latin America and the South for me: how can music and culture be so bold when these countries are so burdened by problems of inequality and corruption?
In the middle of her concert, the Colombian singer invited her Quebec friend, Rachel Therrien, to join her on stage. She told us that the two women had studied music at university together in Cuba 20 years ago.
The only thing missing to complete the Latin hat trick was the presence of Hilario Duran on stage.
It was an evening that seemed to satisfy fans of innovative music. Including the person writing this text.
