FIJM | Queen of Afrobeats, Ayra confirms her status as a Global… Starr

by Sandra Gasana

Ayra Starr’s concert was certainly one of the highlights of this early summer. The crowd was stretched far as the eye could see, and getting around was a miracle—it was like being in a can of sardines, with everyone pressed up against each other. Record attendance? The rain had stopped a few minutes before the start of this memorable show, as Mother Nature guessed it was time to let festival-goers enjoy their long-awaited moment.

After a brief introduction by her DJ, who admittedly wasn’t very good, she took to the stage accompanied by her four dancers. Short hair, necklaces covering her neck, a costume with a sexy bodice inside, in short, the Nigerian diva was ready to blow her audience’s mind.

Given the scorching heat, she took off her jacket at the end of the second song, showing off her bodice. She was joined by a drummer, a guitarist and a keyboardist, all there to turn up the heat on an evening that will live long in the memory of festival-goers.

“Montreal, are you okay?” she asks, addressing the crowd, something she doesn’t do much during the show, except to get them to sing along.

The lighting changed according to the song, while a screen showed images of the singer from behind. All of her hits have been featured, including her most recent hit “Gimme Dat,” on which she featured Wizkid, and “Bloody Samaritan” and “Fashion Killer,” which appear on her album 19 & Dangerous.

The queen of Afrobeats (she shares the imperial throne with Burna Boy) also showed us her dancing talents with her lascivious choreography and her famous signature twerk.

After a few songs from his repertoire, the DJ returned to the stage to entertain the crowd with American pop songs, a major faux pas of the evening, as Ayra stood close behind him. Usually, these interludes are to allow the artist to take a break or have a costume change, but not here. We felt like we were in an open-air discotheque.

Fortunately, this break didn’t last too long, as the talented dancers, who also contributed to the show’s success, returned first on their own, closely followed by Ayra, back to finish off the crowd.
In this portion of the evening, we were treated to tracks from her most recent album, The Year I Turned 21, such as “Woman Commando” on which she collaborated with Anitta and Coco Jones with passages in Spanish, before moving on to “Last Heartbreak Song” with Giveon, another highlight of the evening.
She couldn’t have ended the evening without giving us the hit “Rush,” during which she asked the crowd to turn on their cell phone lights. The Place des Festivals was absolutely luminous on Tuesday July 1st, in the image of the Nigerian global… Starr.

Photo: Emmanuel Novak-Bélanger

Publicité panam

Arabic / metal / Rock

Festival International Nuits d’Afrique : Sarāb au Ministère

by Rédaction PAN M 360

En langue arabe, leur nom signifie mirage. Point de tromperie ni d’illusion ici, rien que de la féérie. Sarāb entraîne l’auditoire dans un irrésistible monde en clair-obscur où se mêlent transe et moments suspendus, aux confins des musiques syriennes, égyptiennes, jazz et rock. “Une patte. Un son. De la classe” (FIP, 2024). Comme en témoigne leur troisième album, Qawalebese Tape (2023), l’univers musical de Sarāb est vaste. Tantôt il s’écoute ; tantôt il se danse. Il s’étend de la trap, au dub, au metal et au rock, porte des thématiques fortes et engagées, sans jamais perdre le fil d’une trame narrative enracinée dans la poésie des maqâmât arabes classiques, magnifiquement porté par la voix de la chanteuse Climène Zarkan et par les sonorités cuivrées.

“In Arabic, their name means ‘mirage.’ There is no deception or illusion here though, only enchantment. Sarāb brings their audience into an irresistible chiaroscuro world of trance and suspended moments, on the fringes of Syrian, Egyptian, jazz and rock music. ”A distinctive style. A sound. Pure class” (FIP, 2024). Their third album Qawalebese Tape is further proof that Sarāb inhabits a vast musical universe that invites listeners to sing and dance along to their music, which extends from trap to dub, metal and rock, while conveying strong, socially engaged messages without ever losing the thread of a narrative rooted in the poetry of classical Arab maqâmât, all of which is magnificently carried by the voice of singer Climène Zarkan and the dazzling sound of the trombone.

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Ce contenu provient du Festival International Nuits d’Afrique et est adapté par PAN M 360

chanson française / hommage

Brel & Barbara – Héros fragiles à la Cinquième Salle

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Une interprétation sensible et respectueuse de Brel et Barbara. Dans ce tour de chant unique où se mêlent souvenirs et scènes théâtrales, Julie Daoust et Renaud Paradis que le grand public a connu dans le téléroman « l’Auberge du chien Noir » nous font découvrir en chanson la relation particulière qui liait Brel et Barbara, par leur interprétation sensible et respectueuse. Une soirée émouvante, pleine d’humour et de tendresse. Au piano, le grand Philippe Noireaut. Une soirée unique où l’on jette un éclairage nouveau, en chansons et en souvenirs, sur l’amitié méconnue qui a lié Barbara et Brel, ces deux géants de la chanson.

A sensitive and respectful interpretation of Brel and Barbara. In this unique concert blending memories and theatrical scenes, Julie Daoust and Renaud Paradis, well known to the public from the TV series L’Auberge du chien noir—invite us to rediscover the special relationship that bound Brel and Barbara through their heartfelt and respectful performances. An emotional evening, filled with humor and tenderness. At the piano: the renowned Philippe Noireaut. A one-of-a-kind event that casts new light, through songs and recollections, on the little-known friendship that connected Barbara and Brel, two giants of French chanson.

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Ce contenu provient du Quartier des spectacles et est adapté par PAN M 360

Folk / Indie / Jazz Pop

Coup de coeur francophone : Claudie Létourneau et Charlotte Brousseau au Verre Bouteille

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Claudie Létourneau

C’est vrai qu’il arrive que la musique de Claudie Létourneau mouille les yeux. C’est vrai aussi qu’elle parvient par moments à délier les hanches. C’est une musique qui fait pop, une bulle rose éclatée comme celle qui vit « sous ses cheveux tempête », sensible et pétillante. Si « La neige tombe » avant l’hiver pour l’autrice-compositrice-interprète, c’est qu’avec le printemps viendra la suite, un premier vrai album.

It’s true that Claudie Létourneau’s music sometimes brings tears to the eyes. It’s also true that at times it gets the hips moving. Her music is pop at heart, a pink bubble bursting like the one that lives “beneath her stormy hair,” sensitive and full of spark. If “La neige tombe” before winter for the singer-songwriter, it’s because spring will bring what’s next: a first full-length album.

Charlotte Brousseau

Charlotte Brousseau a un faible pour les moments suspendus, les contrastes de lumière, les floraisons d’instruments, les détours mélodiques qui débouchent sur des clairières d’une beauté inattendue. Comme du cinéma, les chansons de son Plus de fleurs que de fleuve, coréalisé avec Antoine Corriveau, sont des récits en mot-images et en cordes, des épopées de folk qui font des cercles d’onde dans les eaux plus ou moins troubles de la prog, la pop, le jazz ou la psychédélique.

Charlotte Brousseau has a weakness for suspended moments, for contrasts of light, for instrumental blooms, for melodic detours that open onto clearings of unexpected beauty. Like cinema, the songs of her Plus de fleurs que de fleuve, co-produced with Antoine Corriveau, are word-images and string-filled tales, folk epics sending ripples through the shifting waters of prog, pop, jazz, and psychedelia.

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Ce contenu provient de Coup de cœur francophone et est adapté par PAN M 360

Jazz / Jazz-Funk

FIJM 2025 | Funky funky, Trombone Shorty

by Frédéric Cardin

New Orleans trombonist (and trumpeter) Troy Andrews, aka Trombone Shorty, was the fiery guide to an incandescent evening. He and his long-time friends (New Orleans Avenue) blasted the TD Stage from 9:30 to 11pm non-stop with familiar tracks from Shorty’s most recent albums. Funk that grooves roundly, powerfully, with echoes of rock, hip-hop and salsa, in a staging that puts his friends as much at the forefront as the leader himself. This is evidenced by the exciting exchanges between trombone, tenor sax and baritone, where the sprays of notes hammered out in counterpoint verging on learned repetitive minimalism, before setting off again in an irresistible groovy cacophony with the rest of the band.

Trombone Shorty is also into trumpet, and impresses with a long sequence (a minute and a half or two minutes?) of uninterrupted breathing, which he achieves thanks to the continuous breathing technique. Not easy to do, and not easy to control. While you breathe out through your mouth to play the note, you breathe in through your nose to refill your lungs. Try it and see. A highlight that will live long in the memory: “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In,” with the band members lining up, descending and crossing the crowd. In what other city would star musicians feel so comfortable strolling like this through a human tide of tens of thousands of people? Not that many, I’m sure! Vive Montréal!

par Frederic Cardin

Bossa Nova / Jazz / post-bop

Festival International de Jazz de Montréal : Esperanza Spalding à la scène TD

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Contrebassiste et chanteuse, Esperanza Spalding est une artiste plusieurs fois primée aux Grammy Awards, reconnue pour son approche audacieusement hybride du jazz contemporain. Saluée comme une prodige dès son adolescence, elle se fait remarquer au cours des années 2000 avec ses premiers albums Junjo et Esperanza, ce dernier atteignant le sommet des palmarès de jazz contemporain. En 2010, elle crée la surprise en remportant le Grammy de la Révélation de l’année — une première pour une musicienne de jazz —, ce qui propulse son troisième album, Chamber Music Society, dans le Top 40 du Billboard, devenant ainsi l’album de jazz contemporain le plus vendu de l’année. En parallèle, Spalding s’impose comme pédagogue, devenant la plus jeune professeure à intégrer le corps enseignant du Berklee College of Music.
Elle décroche un second Grammy pour Radio Music Society en 2012. Depuis, elle poursuit une trajectoire résolument expérimentale, enchaînant des albums à forte dimension conceptuelle : Emily’s D+Evolution (2016), Twelve Little Spells (2019) et Songwrights Apothecary Lab (2021), explorent les frontières du jazz, de l’art rock, du R&B, des styles afro-latins, du néo-prog et de la pop expérimentale. Malgré cette diversité, les standards de jazz intimes et subtilement interprétés demeurent au cœur de son identité musicale, comme en témoignent son album en duo avec le pianiste Fred Hersch, Alive at the Village Vanguard (2023), et sa collaboration teintée de folk et de bossa nova avec Milton Nascimento, Milton + Esperanza (2024).

Bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding is a Grammy-winning performer with an ambitiously cross-pollinated approach to contemporary jazz. Hailed as a prodigy in her teens, she garnered wider attention in the 2000s with the release of her debut, Junjo, and its follow-up, Esperanza, the latter of which topped the contemporary jazz charts. In 2010, she won Best New Artist at the Grammys, an accolade that helped propel her third album, Chamber Music Society, into the Billboard Top 40 as the best-selling contemporary jazz album that year. At the same time, Spalding won respect as a teacher, becoming the youngest faculty member at the Berklee College of Music.
She took home a second Grammy for 2012’s Radio Music Society. Spalding has remained a forward-thinking maverick artist, issuing a series of increasingly concept-driven albums, including 2016’s Emily’s D+Evolution, 2019’s Twelve Little Spells, and 2021’s Songwrights Apothecary Lab, all of which found her moving far afield of jazz into art rock, R&B, Afro-Latin styles, neo-prog, and experimental pop. Still, intimate and artfully rendered standards and jazz remain a core of her musical identity, as on her 2023 duo album with Fred Hersch, Alive at the Village Vanguard and her 2024 folk and bossa nova-tinged collaboration with Milton Nascimento, Milton + Esperanza.

CE SPECTACLE EST GRATUIT!

Ce contenu provient d‘AllMusic et est adapté par PAN M 360

Classical / Jazz / Jewish Traditional

FIJM 2025 | Symphonic Avishai Cohen: Bewitching magic

by Frédéric Cardin

To think I almost missed this concert! Due to an error on my part, my name had not been included on the list of press tickets for Symphonic Avishai Cohen. Damn! I had resigned myself to this curse when an angel from Roy Turner Communications (hi Flavie!!), associated with the Festival, wrote to tell me that one last ticket had been found for me. It was one of the year’s best catch-ups, and one I’ll always remember, because this concert by the Israeli double bassist/composer, with his trio and an orchestra assembled for the occasion, was magnificent.

It’s a concert that’s already been around for several years and that the artist tours from time to time. Montreal was right to import it for an evening at the Maison symphonique. The hall was full and the audience was magically lulled, as if in a velvet baby carriage, for almost an hour and a half. Traditional Jewish songs (ladinos, from the Sephardic Jews of medieval Spain), personal compositions of course, and a few well-turned standards were skilfully interpreted thanks to arrangements rich in counter-melodies and harmonic flourishes of the basic material.

No wheels were reinvented, but the magnificence of the orchestral playing and the few refined improvisatory flights by Cohen and his companions, well framed because a symphonic boat is difficult to maneuver in spontaneity, delighted the ears and heart of your humble servant.

Almost piece for piece, the program was the same as that given elsewhere (see the concert at the Philharmonie de Paris in 2016, below), and which can also be heard on the Two Roses album released in 2021 with the Gothenburg Orchestra in Sweden. The final, and unique, encore in Montreal was a “Nature Boy” of rare tenderness. The spell had been cast for good, and we were to leave the illustrious hall spellbound for a long time to come.

Jazz

FIJM | Jeff Goldblum: Storyteller, Comedian and Pianist

by Sandra Gasana

As the opening act, Tyreek McDole, was just finishing up, Jeff Goldblum arrived on stage while his show was still being prepared. He took the opportunity to deliver a one-man show, to pass the time as the hall emptied for a short break.

And then it was off to a monologue, in which he jumps from one idea to the other, always with a touch of humour. He even got the crowd to sing the Quebec and Canadian anthems, as he acted as conductor in Salle Wilfried-Pelletier, which sold out its 3,000 seats without too much difficulty.

He added some name-dropping to his stories, but it was, above all, the impromptu quizzes throughout the evening that appealed to the audience, who challenged themselves to answer all his questions. He also took the opportunity to promote his latest film, Wicked, in which he stars alongside Ariana Grande, among others, as well as his latest opus, Still Blooming, released last April.

He arrives accompanied by his band The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, featuring a guitarist, double bassist, drummer, saxophonist and organist.

From the very first track, we discover a rather gifted pianist—I admit I was a little skeptical at first. He remains theatrical even on his piano, offering us a round of solos by all the musicians, followed by a drop, a term I discovered this week thanks to an artist with whom I collaborate.

Three special guests took to the stage alongside her that evening: the incredible Khailah Johnson, whom I was just discovering, all dressed in yellow, whose voice reminded me of Amy Winehouse’s in her early days. She performed “Misty, Mean to Me” and then “The Best is Yet to Come,” in which the sax is replaced by a flute.

Then Tyreek McDole returned to the stage, this time accompanied by Goldblum’s orchestra for two songs, and finally, renowned Grammy-winning American trumpeter Keyon Harrold, whom he had met that very day, joined the band. Harrold succeeded in creating a symbiotic relationship with the saxophonist, as if they had always played together.

And even in between songs, Goldblum couldn’t resist telling us some anecdotes, as funny as ever, getting up from his chair to address the audience, before returning for the next song.

We hear him sing his turn on “Manhattan,” New York being a city he’s particularly fond of. His voice isn’t extraordinary, but he still manages to hold his notes while retaining his sense of humour, a true entertainer. He ended with a song of circumstance, “Ev’ry Time We say Goodbye,” which earned him applause and a standing ovation from the audience.

Photo : Victor Diaz Lamich

Publicité panam

afro-pop / Cumbia / Hip Hop

Festival International Nuits d’Afrique : El Gato Negro au Ministère

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Le label montréalais Cosmovision Records a fait sa marque avec une électro éthérée, à la vibe positive, entrelaçant les traditions de différentes parties du monde et des sons downtempo et folktronica. Sur ce set, le collectif accueille El Gato Negro, “quelque chose comme le fils caché de Blaise Cendrars et de Celia Cruz” (Radio France, 2017). Chamboulé durant sa jeunesse par le Buena Vista Social Club, le chanteur et multi-instrumentiste a pris la route et s’est construit une vie de bohème, à l’origine d’un son fluctuant entre la pop subtropicale, le traditionnel de partout, le jazz et le hip hop, le tout estampillé d’une signature digitale. Le dernier album de ce pote de Manu Chao, Tigre qui pleure (2024), auquel ont notamment collaboré Orchestra Baobab et et Cucurucho Valdés, codifie des beats cumbia, salsa, soukous, boléro et afrotrap.

The Montreal label Cosmovision Records made its mark with a kind of ethereal electro with a positive vibe that incorporates downtempo and folktronica into traditional folk from around the world. For this set, the collective has invited El Gato Negro, who’s “something like a secret son of Blaise Cendrars and Celia Cruz” (Radio France, 2017). Thunderstruck by Buena Vista Social Club in his youth, the singer and multi-instrumentalist took to the road and began a bohemian existence, creating a sound that oscillates between subtropical pop, traditional folk from all over, jazz and hip hop, all stamped with a digital signature. In 2024, this buddy of Manu Chao released his latest album, Tigre qui pleure, which also features Orchestra Baobab and Cucurucho Valdés, and integrates cumbia, salsa, soukous, bolero and Afrotrap rhythms.

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Ce contenu provient du Festival International Nuits d’Afrique et est adapté par PAN M 360

Africa / Blues / Jazz

Festival International Nuits d’Afrique : Djely Tapa à la scène TD

by Rédaction PAN M 360

“Sans même comprendre les paroles de ses chansons, on devine que son propos est fort, ancré dans une volonté d’être utile et de faire avancer les choses” (La Presse, 2024). Sa voix puissante et haut-perchée, majestueuse, son débit incandescent et son geste élégant en font une artiste incontournable, la nouvelle voix internationale de la musique mandingue. Descendante d’une illustre famille de griots (elle est la fille de la célèbre Kandia Kouyaté), la lauréate de plusieurs prix Juno, dont celui de l’album de musique globale 2025, explore un langage tourné sur le monde et vers l’avenir, qui fait la synthèse de son héritage et de ses aspirations afro-futuristes, dans un univers où les rythmes traditionnels côtoient le blues malien et l’électro. Tantôt aériens, tantôt dangereusement dansants, ses récits, qui rendent hommage à la femme et à l’africanité, sont chargés de métaphores et empreints de sagesse. Le dernier album de celle qui a collaboré avec Tiken Jah Fakoly et Vieux Farka Touré, Dankoroba, a été publié en 2024 sous l’étiquette Disques Nuits d’Afrique.

“Without even understanding her lyrics, you can tell she has a strong message, rooted in a desire to be useful and to make a difference” (La Presse, 2024). This is one artist you won’t want to miss! With her powerful, majestic voice, at times reaching a fiery pitch, her impassioned delivery and graceful gestures, Djely Tapa has become the new voice of mandinka music. Daughter of the celebrated Kandia Kouyaté, Djely descends from a long line of illustrious griots and has earned several Juno awards, including for Global Music Album of the Year, 2025. Through her music, she explores a language that looks outwards and towards the future, synthesizing her heritage and afro-futuristic aspirations in a universe where traditional rhythms mingle with Malian blues and electro. At times ethereal, at others dangerously danceable, her songs, which pay homage to women and to Africanness, are loaded with metaphor and imbued with wisdom. She has collaborated with the likes of Tiken Jah Fakoly and Vieux Farka Touré, who also features on her 2024 album Dankoroba (Disques Nuits d’Afrique).

CE SPECTACLE EST GRATUIT!

Ce contenu provient du Festival International Nuits d’Afrique et est adapté par PAN M 360

Congolese Rumba / Soukouss

Festival International Nuits d’Afrique : Myster Jay à la scène Loto-Québec

by Rédaction PAN M 360

On se croirait presque à Kinshasa, au cœur de la nuit! Jeremie Langi, alias Myster Jay, promet un spectacle chic et classe, plein de joie et de musique, où l’ambiance et la sape seront au rendez-vous! De sa voix claire et haut perchée, parfaitement adaptée à ce qu’il fait, l’auteur, chanteur, compositeur et interprète décline son héritage congolais, aux couleurs du soukous et de la rumba. Préparez vos chorégraphies ndombolo, elles vous seront bien utiles!

You’d almost think you were in Kinshasa, in the heart of the night! Jeremie Langi, aka Myster Jay, promises a classy show, a chic ambiance full of joy and music with characteristic La Sape elegance on full display. With his clear, high voice, perfectly suited to what he does best, the singer-songwriter expresses his Congolese heritage coloured by soukous and rumba. Get practising your ndombolo dance steps, you’re going to want to join in!

CE SPECTACLE EST GRATUIT!

Ce contenu provient du Festival International Nuits d’Afrique et est adapté par PAN M 360

Ambient / Electronic / IDM

MUTEK : A/VISIONS 2 au Théâtre Maisonneuve

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Point de convergence entre technologie, performance et poésie visuelle, A/Visions propose deux soirées exceptionnelles au Théâtre Maisonneuve.
A/Visions 2 est une invitation à découvrir la poésie numérique avec trois performances qui ont comme point commun la vibration. Entre sculpture électronique, instruments acoustiques et explorations technologiques, cet événement rassemble des projets qui interrogent notre relation au temps.

A/Visions is a point of convergence between technology, performance, and visual poetry, presenting two exceptional evenings at Théâtre Maisonneuve.
A/Visions 2 is an invitation to experience digital poetry through three performances united by a shared sense of vibration. Blending electronic sculpture, acoustic instruments, and technological explorations, the event brings together projects that question our relationship with time.

Alexis Langevin-Tétrault

Avec REPLIKAS, Alexis Langevin-Tétrault érige en direct un totem métallique lumineux, sculptant le son et la lumière par des gestes amplifiés. Capteurs corporels et apprentissage machine tissent un arc dramatique du drone solennel à la lumière pulsée — un rituel contemporain où la technologie révèle l’invisible et sublime le deuil.

In REPLIKAS, Alexis Langevin-Tétrault builds a glowing metallic totem live on stage, conducting sound and light with visceral precision. Using body sensors and machine learning, he crafts a dramatic arc from somber drones to pulsing luminosity—a ritual of grief and resilience where technology channels the spiritual and the unseen.

Ash Fure

Ash Fure présente ANIMAL, une performance immersive où caissons de basses sismiques, lumières tactiles et bruits hyper-détaillés convergent. Sa démarche mêle interférences acoustiques et intensité physique, combinant technologies sur mesure et matières sonores brutes pour déstabiliser l’espace et la perception dans une expérience sensorielle axée sur le corps.

Ash Fure presents ANIMAL, an immersive performance where seismic sub-bass, tactile light, and hyper-detailed noise collide. Driven by acoustic interference and physical intensity, her process fuses custom technologies with raw sonic material to destabilize space and perception through a sensory, body-oriented experience.

Shackleton, Wacław Zimpel et Siddhartha Belmannu

Shackleton, Wacław Zimpel et Siddhartha Belmannu livrent une suite transcendantale où électroniques modulaires, clarinettes avant-folk et chants carnatiques fusionnent. Oubliant les structures classiques pour plonger plus aisément dans la transe, leur performance interroge la beauté, la mortalité et la condition humaine dans toute sa profondeur.

Shackleton, Wacław Zimpel and Siddhartha Belmannu present a transcendent suite of long-form compositions where modular electronics, avant-folk reeds, and Carnatic vocals converge. Flowing beyond structure into ecstatic trance, their performance explores mortality, beauty, and the full spectrum of being—raw, radiant, and deeply human.

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Ce contenu provient de MUTEK et est adapté par PAN M 360