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Dobbin's Den - April 16, 1997 |
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DOBBIN’S DEN By Len Dobbin Posted Wednesday, April 16, 1997 Contents
THIS WEEK IN MONTREAL (APRIL 17-23) The Thursday night duo series continues at Jazzons (300 Ontario St. E.). This week (April 17) pianist and jazz festival competition winner, Jean-François Groulx hooks up with an excellent foil, tenorman Koen Nys. Bassist Skip Bey and pianist Tim Jackson are the big attraction there on Fridays and Saturdays. Guitarist Greg Amirault will be presenting his master class concert on Friday, April 18 at 8 PM at McGill's Salle Lichtenstein (555 Sherbrooke W). Thursday, April 17 through Sunday, April 20 Jim Hillman's group The Merlin Factor will be at L’Air du Temps (191 St. Paul St. W.). Friday and Saturday you have your choice between the quartet of bassist Brian Hurley featuring Rémi Bolduc, Jeff Johnston and Andre White at Café Boomers (297 Lakeshore Rd., Pointe Claire) and altoman Dave Turner's Latin Sextet featuring Aron Doyle at Upstairs (1254 Mackay). Oliver Jones, who recently recorded in L.A. with Ray Brown and Jeff Hamilton, is back from wintering in Florida. He can be heard this Saturday, April 19 at 8 PM along with the Union Church Gospel Choir in "Progressions: Gospel, Blues & Jazz" at St. James United Church (463 St. Catherine St. W). Jones will be joining the choir for four numbers, as well as playing with his trio, which consists of George Mitchell, bass and Wali Muhammad, drums. Information can be obtained by calling 932-8731. Tenor saxophonist Mike Allen returns to Montreal with a group from the Canadian West Coast. That's this Sunday, April 20 at 8:30 at Isart (263 St. Antoine St. W.). He'll be joined by keyboard player Miles Black, bassist André Lachance and drummer Dylan van der Schyff. In a definite coup, Jennifer Bell has trumpet and flugelhorn player Kenny Wheeler joining her little big band, Altsys, in a not-to-be-missed concert at Concordia Concert Hall (7141 Sherbrooke St. W.) on Monday, April 21. Famed Canadian photographer John Max has an exhibit of his work on display at Galerie Vox (4060 St. Laurent, Suite 110). It runs until Sunday, April 20. While it's not a jazz photo exhibit, it’s well worth your attention. I first met John some 45 years ago when he became a member of the Emanon Jazz Society. Caught the always improving trio of pianist Francois Bourassa with bassist Guy Boisvert and drummer Yves Boisvert at Upstairs on Friday in a nice set that featured Herbie Hancock's Dolphin Dance and a number of Bourassa originals, many of them from his Echo CD (Jazz Inspiration). This group just gets tighter and tighter as well it should, since the trio has been out there as a unit longer than most bands currently playing in Canada. Tim Jackson and Skip Bey were their usual mischievous musical selves at their weekend haunt, Jazzons. On Saturday and Sunday there was not only the Guitar/Bass Fest '97 but also Sax-en-Fête, thankfully both in the same building. The former was in Salle Pierre Mercure, the latter in the music faculty of UQAM. Among the highlights of the Fest were Frédéric Alarie's Basse Section, its first outing with Kelsley Grant on trombone; bass guitar wizard Michael Manring; and the very musical duo of guitarist Richard Ring and bassist Dave Young, who were joined for an encore (Summertime) by vocalist Ranee Lee. Sax fête highlights included the new Billy Kerr composition, Conversation For Two Baritones, played by his wife Nancy Newman and Kim Freeman; a most interesting Master Class given by Mike Smith; and an evening concert where Smith was joined by Michel Donato, James Gelfand and Magella Cormier, the latter a most unfortunate choice for this style of music (read "jazz"). Smith is a very strong player with a number of excellent CDs out on the Delmark label. He played some soprano but alto is his main instrument on which he's a major voice. I'll be doing a profile of Mike Smith here in the near future and with any luck we'll perhaps get him back in the fall. A quintet appearance with Billy Kerr was bandied about. The Guitar/Bass event was put together by Ralph Angelillo and his crew from the magazine, Le Musicien, while the Sax event was put on by the Association des Saxophonistes du Québec. It's the first time jazz has been part of the event and thanks go out to reedman Gerry Labelle, the regional manager of Boosey & Hawkes, for his input and for bringing Mike Smith in for the event. Caught my first Sunday night jam session at Upstairs where the house trio of Greg Amirault, Ron Seguin and Dave Laing were joined by the likes of Steve Amirault, Geoff Lapp, Jean Beaudet, Lorne Ellen and Jim Hillman. Local photographer Bob Walker and his lady were in the club celebrating an anniversary. Lots of great music at the CKUT fund raiser at Isart on April 6. Thanks to Dean Cotrill, Jennifer Bell and Bill Mahar, Koen Nys and Mike Rud, Joel Miller, Rainer Weins, the Ratchet Orchestra and all the musicians in these groups for their contribution and also thanks to all who called in with pledges during CKUT's fund raiser. l4TH DISCOVER JAZZ FESTIVAL JUNE 10-15 BURLINGTON, VERMONT This year's Discover jazzFestival in nearby Burlington is subtitled Keyboard Madness. The event features more than 130 performances in 50 different locales. There's a Dixieland cruise on June 13 featuring the Onion River Jazz Band as well as a jazz parade down Church Street to City Hall Park; Jazz in the Park, five hours of music in City Hall Park; Jazz on the Street, a week-long event featuring high school and college bands from around the state of Vermont on the Church Street Mall. There will also be student bands heard on the mall all week long in Jazz at Noon. There will be workshops and master classes and a Meet the Artists series where you can participate in question-and-answer sessions with many of the major artists appearing at the Festival. In addition it is expected that 30 odd clubs and restaurants will have jazz featured throughout the week. The Keyboard Madness series will include the following: June 10 Abdullah Ibrahim (Contois Club in City Hall Bldg) June 11 Myra Melford (Contois) June 13 McCoy Tyner (Flynn Theatre) June 14 Jimmy Smith (Flynn) June 15 Dr. John (Flynn) other events: June 12 Luther Allison (Blues Tent in Winooski, Vt.) June 14 Bronx orns - a Latin Dance Party (Church Street Mall) Information: Phone (802) 863-7992 or Fax (802) 864-3927 Tickets (802) 86-FLYNN Fred Henke was in town from New Jersey to record some organ tracks at Studio Victor with people like Lorne Ellen and Michael Gauthier. Fred will be among those featured at an organ day during this year's Newark Jazz Festival. Jim Hillman, in from New York, will be recording his third CD with his group Merlin Factor while he's in town, again for the Radioland label. Look for the Bob Mover CD, Television (DSM), recorded here live on February 23. It should be out before the end of April, while John Hicks' solo recital, After The Morning, recorded at the jazz festival on July 8, 1992 is scheduled for an early May release by the same label. Hicks has now been confirmed for a trio appearance at Upstairs at the end of May. Expect some changes at Biddles. Pianist Wray Downes informs me that both he and drummer Wali Muhammad have received their notice. Geoff Lapp and Steve Amirault have been heard with Biddle in the last week. That was Mike Milligan subbing for Errol Walters in the Billy Georgette group last week. Billy, Errol and Johnny Scott are the early evening attraction at Biddles on Fridays and Saturdays. I mentioned Doc Cheatham being scheduled for the jazz festival. That will be in the company of Nicholas Payton. Speaking of the festival, I noticed that the building at the corner of Ste. Catherine and St. Urbain (the former Gayety Theatre) [Editor’s Note: Le Théâtre du Nouveau Monde] is in the final stages of being rebuilt. As the festival have used that venue in the past for many memorable concerts (The Jimmy Giuffre Trio, Tommy Flanagan Trio, Herb Ellis - Red Mitchell), it's hoped it will be again a part of the festival scene. Great news! Timothy Findley's The Piano Man's Daughter. . . and Others mentioned here last week will be making a Montreal stop at Concordia Concert Hall on May 9. Thanks to Mike Regenstreif for seeing that Montrealers will have a chance to take it in. Tickets are now available. Good to see ex-Montrealer, actor Paul Hecht, who did a great CBC jazz radio show, 'Round Midnight, back in the 60s, getting some TV exposure of late. He was seen in a major role on the recent three-part Law & Order and a bit later on the Late Show with David Letterman. I can remember taxiing over to the CBC building from the Tête de l'Art with people like Sonny Stitt for live interviews with Paul. If you've missed Billy Kerr on the local jazz scene, he'll be at Café Boomers in June. The reason for his absence is that he's been playing in the pit band for the show, Jeanne La Pucelle, currently in Quebec City for three weeks. The Francois Bourassa Trio will be off to France in July with appearances scheduled for Montpellier and Juan-les-Pins. April 24
April 25 & 26
April 26
April 27
April 29
May 2
May 2 & 3
May 9
May 9 & 10
May 10
May 16 &17
May 23 & 24
May 30 & 31
A couple of interesting blues CDs arrived from the people at Evidence. Maybe I'll Cry is by Mama Estella Yancey, the widow of piano giant Jimmy Yancey. Recorded in 1983, it has Erwin Heller, an excellent Chicago musician, on piano. Among the pieces here are Trouble In Mind, Pallet on the Floor and Four O'Clock Blues. Juanita by singer/guitarist Homesick James is from a February 1993 session done in Nashville. Elmore James' I Can't Hold Out and Careless Love are here along with eight originals by the leader. Mike Smith spent 10 years playing lead alto with Frank Sinatra. His latest, Sinatra Songbook (Delmark), has him featured in a quartet setting doing ten songs associated with Sinatra - Only The Lonely, I Remember You and All Or Nothing At All among them. It’s well worth checking out. Wednesday, April 23, 1997 CKUT ( 90.3 FM ) 9-11:15 AM Music by Wray Downes, Mike Smith and a birthday salute to Paul Chambers, who was born on April 22, 1935. Back to Dobbin's Den Index
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