After a nine-year hiatus, Canadian band Bedouin Soundclash released their fifth studio album, MASS, in 2019. It was recorded in New Orleans with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and in a church with the children of the St. James Music Academy in Vancouver. Founded by Montreal-born guitarist-singer Jay Malinowski and Toronto bassist Eon Sinclair, Bedouin Soundclash is was very popular in the 2000s, sharing the stage with No Doubt, Ben Harper, The Roots, The Interrupters, Gogol Bordello and Thievery Corporation, among others. Canadian artist Odario will also be on stage.
Montréal
Patient and subtle where so many of their post-rock contemporaries are merely tedious and vague, Montreal’s Towers of Jupiter construct impressive edifices of otherworldly sound. Their recent free download, “Histoire sans mort 2020”, decently demonstrates their magnified mood-scaping. Get in on the ground floor of this one.
Recognized as one of the most respected sound systems in the country for almost 30 years, Little Thunder has also positioned itself as a major producer of dancehall events in the Montreal Jamaican community. The year always begins with two of their major productions: Bigga Things, in mid-January, and Pisces Affair, celebrating the birthday of one of their two selector brothers, Don Ignorance, at the Montreal Caribbean Social Organisation in LaSalle. Energy Squad, Mark Passion, Nighthawk International, veteran DJ Tuff and Big Worm kick off the evening.
Psych-Rock / Rock
Elephant Stone • Meggie Lennon
Photo credit: Bowen Stead
In 2016, Montreal band Elephant Stone released a very good psychedelic rock record called Ship of Fools. Founded in 2008 by singer-songwriter, bassist and sitar player Rishi Dhir, the band, fresh off a European tour, release their long-awaited sixth studio album, Hollow, on February 14. Elephant Stone take advantage of the concert at L’Escogriffe to share six new songs as well as a dozen other tracks from their repertoire, including “Andromeda”. The band also offer launch shows in Quebec City, Sherbrooke and Lalvaltrie. Over the years, Elephant Stone has performed many shows in Canada and abroad.
First Nations
Constantinople: « Souffles »
Constantinople has been part of Quebec’s musical landscape for 10 years now, guiding its audiences on a journey through time and culture. Back from a tour of Senegal, Mauritania, Algeria and France, Kiya Tabassian and his band present Souffles, where the songs and prayers of the Mi’kmaq and Innu throat-singing mingle with the diphonic chants of Tuva, a republic in eastern Russia bordering Mongolia. Adding to the dialogue are the ensemble’s signature instruments – setar, frame drums and viola da gamba – as well as the oldest and most emblematic instrument of the Sufis and Persian music, the reed flute called the ney.
Singer-Songwriter
Pierre Lapointe
Albin de la Simone, Hubert Lenoir, Julien Chiasson, Félix Dyotte, Amélie Mandeville, Philippe B and Clara Luciani collaborated on Pierre Lapointe’s intimate album Pour déjouer l’ennui, a record of French chanson “à texte” as one would have imagined it in the late ’50s and in the pre-psychedelic ’60s. Gainsbourg, Barbara, Moustaki… the consummate classicism is appropriate on this very fine album, very well written, with a focus on the intimacy of sensitive and loving beings.
Electronic / IDM
Telefon Tel Aviv • Steve Hauschildt
After the passing of Charles Cooper in 2009, and the creation of his own parallel project Sons of Magdalene, American multi-instrumentalist Joshua Eustis is now carrying the Telefon Tel Aviv torch as a solo act. The tour for the album Dreams Are Not Enough marks the return of the former Nine Inch Nails/Puscifer member’s project with this first recording since Immolate Yourself (2009). Released in September 2019 on Ghostly International, this highly anticipated new material doesn’t disappoint in any way. This electronic opus with high-calibre electronics and sumptuous experimental sounds might be worth the decade of waiting. Intensity and emotion will undoubtedly be part of this performance, which underlines the reunion between an artist of great creative sensitivity, and an audience that hardly expected it to happen anymore, especially in such an intimate setting!
Since 2010, Sarahmée has been building her career, refining her art and shaping her persona. Having reached maturity, the butterfly is out of the cocoon! Highly influenced by French soul/R&B/hip hop with her own special touch of Afro-pop, an authentic hyperlink between North American, European and African cultures, the Quebecoise launched the album Irréversible last year, the fruits of which she is currently reaping. The celebrations continue in the east end of Montreal: at the Maison de la culture Maisonneuve, Sarahmée performs with a band and guests. With a warm evening ahead of her, the singer certainly has the necessary authority to crank things up to the desired intensity.
Gentiane MG Trio
Contemporary Jazz / Jazz
Gentiane MG Trio
The Gentiane MG Trio was a “Révélation Radio-Canada jazz” for 2018-2019, and recipient of the François-Marcaurelle award from the Guilde des musiciens du Québec. The trio offers a program of original compositions and improvisation imagined here and now, the main material for which is found on the album Eternal Cycle.
MUSICIANS:
Gentiane MG (Michaud-Gagnon): piano and compositions
Levi Dover : double bass
Louis-Vincent Hamel : drums
Jazz / Modern Jazz
Josh Rager Organ Trio
Pianist, keyboardist, arranger, composer and educator, Josh Rager is a member in good standing of the Montreal jazz community. In 2005, his local career was launched with his selection for the Prix du Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. Over the course of his career, Rager has played or recorded with many well-known artists, including Ingrid Jensen, Walt Weiskopf, Donny McCaslin, Joe Morello, Pat LaBarbera, Kevin Dean, Ranee Lee, and Dawn Tyler Watson. He has toured Japan, Europe and North America. This time he’s performing in a classic context: a trio based on the Hammond B3 organ.
MUSICIANS:
Josh Rager: organ
Carlos Jimenez : guitar
Rich Irwin: drums
Contemporary Jazz / Jazz
Improvisation Workshop Project
Under the direction of the excellent French pianist Jean-Michel Pilc (professor at McGill University), this Improvisation Workshop Project brings together musicians from all backgrounds and levels – students and professional musicians, jazz and classical. The purpose is to explore collective improvisation as “improvised chamber music”. Composition, orchestration, musical interpretation and improvisation can thus merge into a coherent and meaningful whole.