Montréal
Jazz / Modern Jazz
Nick Di Giovanni
Trained notably at McGill University, Nick Di Giovanni is a “classical” jazzman, a proud representative of the guitaristic tradition in jazz, based on melodic articulation and harmony… and rather discreet pedal effects. Not surprisingly, he has played with André White, Kevin Dean, Dave Laing, Alec Walkington, Rémi-Jean Leblanc, Mark Nelson, Chet Doxas, Samuel Blais, Marie-Fatima Rudolf, Alain Bourgeois and Sophie Milman, among others. (Alain Brunet)
MUSICIANS:
Nick Di Giovanni: guitar/composer
Gentiane MG: piano
Mike De Masi: bass
Louis-Vincent Hamel: drums
Classical / Classical Period / Modern Classical
Daniil Trifonov
Praised by international critics, Daniil Trifonov, soon to be 29, is one of the most brilliant pianists of his generation and already shares the summit of Russian piano playing with his colleagues Denis Matsuev and Evgeny Kissin. His last visit to the Maison Symphonique, last year, was marked by troubles that forced the cancellation of his show, followed by a magical performance the next day. Daniil Trifonov returns to Montreal with the aura of a great star. He won the Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011 and third prize at the 16th Frederic Chopin Piano Competition.
PROGRAM
Daniil Trifonov, piano (recital)
Scriabin, 8 Etudes Op. 42
Scriabin, Piano sonata No. 9 in F major Op. 68
Beethoven, Piano sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110
Borodine, Petite suite, excerpt (13 min.)
Prokofiev, Piano sonata No. 8 in B-flat major, Op. 84
A flamboyant, fierce, independent, authentic African feminist singer who is rooted in both her Wassoulou culture and her globalized vision of culture through her interests in rock, blues and synth-pop, Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara returns for a third show for her Montreal fans, a show worthy of her talent and international renown. Produced in France by Matthieu Chedid (aka M), Fenfo (2019) is undoubtedly her best album, and has been nominated for a Grammy. Needless to say, she’ll be at the top of her game when she touches down in Montreal.
Contemporary Jazz / Jazz
Gentiane MG + Levi Dover + Louis-Vincent Hamel
Breakbeat / Electronic / Grime / Hip Hop / House / Instrumental Hip Hop
Couteau Music au Party Dômesicle #7
Couteau Music brings together mostly Montreal artists for Domesicle #7, an immersive electro party presented at the SAT. The Fitness and Pony pony up some house music with a rough techno bass and a lo-fi coating. Thomas White enjoys fusing grime, juke and ’90s R&B. The band Ragers rely on a mix of hip hop and space rock interspersed with synths and other instruments played in real time. Singer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer LIA draws inspiration from trip hop and future soul styles to strike a predominantly vocal electronic approach, reminiscent of Banks, Bon Iver or James Blake.
The artists of Level of Detail put forward their common love of visual arts and music. Pat Pom, an artist with a passion for science, computer tech and high mathematics, introduces his new project NestDrop Immersion’s stratagems, custom-designed for the Satosphere. Jason Fletcher will be at his side, as will Sean Caruso. Under the alias C. Cruser in this context, the latter is a multidisciplinary digital artist based in Montreal. Trained in immersive tech at the SAT, he is currently resident VJ at the Satosphere and works in the SAT’s immersion department. Sean Caruso is also the founder of NEST Immersion, shooting with a mobile geodesic dome, and his immersive short films have won international awards.
Electronic / Progressive House / trance
Spencer Brown
A member of the Anjunabeats collective, this 24-year-old Californian concocts progressive trance house that’s distinct from the array of current offerings, which is to be sure extremely vast. The aim is obviously to fill the dancefloor until the wee hours. Barely out of his teens, Spencer Brown turned heads with the EP Chalice on the LE7ELS label, before joining the Anjunabeats stable and releasing several recordings that won over electronic fans, including the album Illusion of Perfection (2018) and the very recent Stream of Consciousness, which will certainly be on the table at Espace SAT.
Contemporary Jazz / Jazz
Aaron Parks • Ben Street • Damion Reid
Seattle native Aaron Parks has an impressive track record. The New York-based pianist demonstrates superior technique and open-mindedness, leading him to the most creative projects in new American jazz. Accustomed to Montreal stages and close to his community of musicians, this excellent instrumentalist brings on board double bassist Ben Street and drummer Damion Reid, this time around. Some of the material on the program could be from his most recent album Little Big, released on Ropadope, recorded with a different band than the one on the program at Salle Bourgie.
Experimental / Contemporary / Free Improvisation / Soundtrack
« Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ »
Packed with palace intrigue, pirate attacks, white-knuckle chariot races and a cameo appearance by Christ himself, the 1925 silent-film version of Ben-Hur offers plenty for musicians to play around with. Accompanying a pristine 16mm film print (care of Montreal’s Cinéclub/The Film Society) of director Fred Niblo’s epic Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ are Zoé Dumais on violin, Guillaume Bourque on clarinet, Joanie Labelle handling percussion, and at the piano, Guillaume Martineau, leader of the cinematically suggestive Lucioles collective and bearer of bona fides in both classical and jazz. Strap your sandals on tight, this promises to be a musically memorable evening worthy of the Circus Maximus.
Photo Credit: I. Vadnais
A meeting of two guitar trios, one from Montreal and the other from California. For the past 10 years or so, the musicians of the sextet thus formed have been getting together periodically to jam, record or perform. The show at l’Outremont is part of a North American tour that will take them to six other cities in Quebec.
In a Landscape, their most recent album together, produced in a church in the township of Gore, a municipality in the Laurentians north of Lachute, gives a good idea of the repertoire expected on the tour. It features both original pieces by members of the sextet and rearranged covers, such as Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes”, David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, “Perpetuum Mobile” by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra and the title track, composed by John Cage.
Like the 51tr4p Fr4p50 mixtape, Tizzo’s song “On fouette” was released in the spring of 2018, and won a SOCAN award in June 2019. The expression on fouette, by the way, magnifies the ambitions of Tizzo and his Afro-Montreal buddies, who didn’t have it easy before making a name for themselves in local hip hop. All involved in the crafting of this authentic jam, Tizzo (Teddy Laguerre), Shreez (Shawn Volcy), Soft (Marc Casseus) and 4590’z (Vladimir Methelus) were joint winners of the SOCAN prize. The fast and assured ascent of Tizzo and his gang has just begun, and the next step is scheduled to take place at Club Soda, as part of the Run It Fest event. Tizzo, Shreez and Soft will be on stage, along with other colleagues from the keb rap community — Kay Bandz, Soubillz, TK, Mike Shabb, Kevin Na$h, and DJ Crowd.
Electro-Pop / Pop / soul-pop / Synth-Pop
Anna of the North
Norwegian songwriter Anna Lotterud is known publicly under the pseudonym Anna of the North – for obvious reasons. In this case, indie pop, synth pop, soul pop and dream pop all contribute to a resolutely… pop approach. Melodic accents, consonant harmonies, romantic themes… nothing could be more pop. For the moment, the economy of means and artifices confers upon this Scandinavian singer expressing herself in English (perfected during an extended stay in the Antipodes) a freshness and lightness beyond the apparent conformity of her songs. If all goes well for Anna of the North, the stopover at Ministère should be a step towards much larger venues – not a foregone conclusion, despite the esteemed success of the albums Lovers (2017) and Dream Girl (2019).