DOBBIN’S DEN

By Len Dobbin

Posted Thursday, June 5, 1997

Contents

• Montreal Jazz Festivals
• This Week in Montreal
• Last Week in Montreal
• News and Upcoming Events
• New Releases
• DOBBIN’S DEN (on Radio)

MONTREAL JAZZ FESTIVALS

While this year’s edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, which begins on June 26, is the l8th, jazz festivals in Montreal go back a lot longer than that. Doudou Boicel of Rising Sun fame put on a number of Festijazz events beginning in 1978, and there were events even earlier. In the summer of 1961, the Montreal Festivals Society (then located at 766 Sherbrooke Street West) announced a six-day jazz event at the Comédie Canadienne (now the home of the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde and, before that, the Gayety, a burlesque house). lt ran from August 26 through 31.

Belgian guitarist René Thomas, who was residing here, opened the festival with Bird's Au Privave, with Fred McHugh on bass and Pierre Béluse on drums. Thomas and McHugh soloed well, and Béluse’s backing was just right. Thomas was at his lyrical best on Like Someone In Love, which was in turn followed by an original, I Remember Sonny (for Rollins whom he'd recorded with recently). On it, Thomas was spurred by Béluse into some top-notch playing, with McHugh doing an amazing solo out of Wilbur Ware's bag. Django's Manoir de Mes Rêves was notable especially for Thomas' feeling for both the tune and its composer. The response from the audience at the end of that number was not to be topped, not even by the Modern Jazz Quartet. The trio's playing on Tadd Dameron's John's Delight was again exceptional. Thomas wisely then chose another Reinhardt piece, Nuages, and the results were again electrifying. Another Dameron opus, Our Delight, closed the first half of the concert with exciting playing from all three members of the trio.

The Modern Jazz Quartet (John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath and Connie Kay) played the second half and was marvellous. It was refreshing to hear this group. Each piece was more than a simple arrangement or string of solos. Each was a complete composition. Ornette Coleman's Lonely Woman was a piece of fragile beauty, with exceptional bass work from Percy Heath, who, Steve Swallow was later to say, was the man that the other bassists forgot to thank. The group made much of How High The Moon, a tune I had tired of hearing. Other highlights were two John Lewis compositions- If I Were Eve and Animal Dance, from his score for the ballet, Original Sin. Both were delightful. One left the concert with a feeling of having heard an evening of jazz, the likes of which don't occur too often. Both groups were exceptional.

Day two featured the first public performance of Nick Ayoub's Two Parts ln 4/4 Time by the Ted Elfstrom Octet. The highpoint of the opening half of the concert, it featured some fine acoustic bass work from Don Habib, an Ayoub tenor solo that was easily the best of those heard in this half of the concert, followed by some spirited alto sax from Joe Christie, Jr. It was a wonderful finish to what had been a rather routine start, and, again, Ayoub shone as both a player and composer. (The Elfstrom Octet was made up of the leader on trombone, 4 multi-reed players, bass, drums and spinet).

In the second half it was both a pleasure and a revelation to hear that Oscar Peterson's playing had progressed to the point where everything he played had meaning and was never simply a display of pianistic prowess. Other groups could learn a lot about a great many facets of trio playing from this one. The highpoint to me was Peterson's solo playing on Ill Wind, which brought Art Tatum to mind, then slipping into an easy trio groove, before returning to the solo format to close. I’d hate to have been a pianist sitting in the audience as I’m sure Peterson’s treatment of this Harold Arfen tune must have been frightening. (Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen were the other members of the trio).

A local group led by Paul DeMargerie opened day three. Making their North American debut, the Double Six of Paris (Mimi Perrin, Monique Guerin, Jean-Claude Briodin, Louis Aldebert, Claude Germain and Eddy Louiss) were heard during the second half of this concert and also closed the sixth and last concert. Their repertoire was the same for both appearances. They did a number of Quincy Jones' pieces from their initial recording session, as well as numbers like Boplicity, Early Autumn and Bill Russo's Sweets. In both the big band and small group conversions to vocals, the closeness to the original was bang on. It was a very enjoyable group to hear, even for those who didn't speak French.

On August 29, the fourth day, the local Arleigh Peterson dancers were followed by the Herbie Mann Sextet, which had the leader on flute with Hagood Hardy, vibes; Ahmed Abdul Malik, bass; Rudy Collins, drums; and percussionists Ray Mantilla and Chief Bey. The first two numbers were pretty much straight ahead jazz, with Mann and Hardy soloing and Abdul Malik outstanding with a strong, well-conceived solo on the opening number, Free For All, which left one wanting for more that was, alas, not to come. The Latin percussionists were featured on the last three numbers and created quite a rhythmic display. More straight ahead jazz and soloing from Abdul Malik would have been appreciated.

René Thomas' second appearance was not a repeat of the explosive opening night set. However, Thomas' playing was far from being as bad as the local press reported. I had never heard Thomas play really badly. He made You Made Me Love You into something quite lovely. Fred McHugh had an imaginative solo on Night ln Tunisia and Nuages, which served as an encore and had Thomas' best solo of the night. I feet at this time he was the only guitarist who could do justice to the memory of his countryman, Django Reinhardt.

The Mitchell-Ruff Trio closed this concert and was the opening act on the festival's final day. Drummer Charlie Smith joined pianist Dwike Mitchell and bassist Willie Ruff. The latter also played some French horn. They turned out to be a crowd-pleasing group who swung very hard. The second appearance was the more memorable with a beauty of a French horn solo on It's A Lazy Afternoon, the highlight.

There was festival closing party at the LaSalle Hotel (now the Europa) on Drummond Street, where it came as a welcome surprise to discover that Eddy Louiss of the Double Six was also an excellent jazz pianist. He sat in with Thomas and played a solo that had the guitarist spinning around in amazement. It's too bad he wasn't presented in a trio setting during the festival itself. Ten years later, Louiss (on organ), Thomas and drummer Bernard Lubat were heard in Paris by Stan Getz, who hired them immediately as his rhythm section. You can check that group out on Getz` Dynasty, a 2-CD set on Verve.

1961 afterthoughts- I picked René Thomas as the outstanding musician. He was nearly always brilliant. I also suggested a little more care in choosing the local groups, calling the DeMargerie group (with the exception of vibraphonist Yvan Landry) almost unbearably bad. I put forward locals like Herbie Spanier, Art Roberts, George Kennedy, Cisco Normand and Wimp Henstridge as some of the talent that deserved to be showcased the following year. Americans suggested were John Coltrane, George Russell and Coleman Hawkins.

Laurier Hébert and Pierre Garneau headed the hard-working group that made it all happen some 36 years ago, to my knowledge our first jazz festival ever.

(Retrospectives of the festivals of 1962 and 1963 will appear in the near future.)

LAST WEEK IN MONTREAL

There was a tremendous turnout at Biddles last Monday for the launch of Virage, a new CD by the Bernard Primeau Jazz Ensemble, with special guest Ray Anderson. Among the overflow crowd were jazz veterans Stan Martin, Roland Lavallée, Claude Resther, Émile "Cisco" Normand, Bob Rollins, Oliver Jones and Vic Vogel.

The musical highlight of my week was the two nights at Upstairs of jazz giant John Hicks, whose piano was joined by the bass of Michel Donato and drums of Lorne Ellen. They were joined for part of each set by the flute of Elise Wood, who's been playing with John since about 1982. The Hicks/Donato/Ellen trio recorded on Friday afternoon for future broadcast on the CBC radio programme Jazz Beat. It's also hoped that this successful session will eventually appear as a CD. Hicks is an extremely busy musician. He recently was heard in New York with Elise Wood, Vincent Herring or Bobby Watson, Curtis Lundy and Cecil Brooks and was heard in concert with the Chicago Symphony under Daniel Barenboim. He plays the Toronto Festival with Sonny Fortune. Perhaps we'll get him next year. Wood has been working of late with a trio of D.D. Jackson and Santi Debriano.

THIS WEEK IN MONTREAL

Pianist par excellence Steve Amirault appears with a superbly talented trio of bassist Ron Séguin and drummer Michel Lambert. That's Friday and Saturday at Upstairs. This is a not-to-be-missed event! Amirault is one of the most creative musicians currently residing in Canada. Put your ears in an attentive listening mode and catch both nights. You'll be musically rewarded. Lorne Ellen's trio with Jean Beaudet, piano and Dave Watts, bass are the feature on Friday and Saturday at Eddie G's in Hudson.

NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

The jazz policy at Café du Commerce is no more. The Discover Jazz Festival, subtitled Keyboard Madness, begins on Tuesday, June 10 and runs through Sunday, June 15 in Burlington, Vermont. Call (802) 86-FLYNN for information. [See Dobbin’s Den 10 for more details or check out the festival’s web site.] Next Tuesday, the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal announces its schedule of outdoor free concerts. Watch this site for details. Bill Barwick is now the drummer in Billy Georgette's trio on Mondays at Biddles, while Errol Walters and Éric Lagacé alternate in the bass spot.

NEW RELEASES

Michael Blake, a saxophone-playing member of John Lurie's Lounge Lizards has a serious CD out with a distinctive Eastern (Vietnam) flavour. It's called Kingdom of Champa (Intuition). It was produced in New York last year by Teo Macero, and besides the leader on tenor and soprano saxes and bass clarinet, bassist Tony Scherr, vibist Bryan Carrott and multi reedman Thomas Chapin are heard.

For lovers of good (recent) standards there's What What Happens (Mercury), where vocalist Laura Fygi is heard on fifteen songs by Michel Legrand, including How You Keep The Music Playing, The Windmills of Your Mind, What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life? and three from the Umbrellas of Cherbourg soundtrack, including the title piece of the CD. The CD was recorded in London. Bassist Chris Laurence is among the musicians heard.

The self-titled Steve Turre (Verve) features that first-rank trombonist and conch shell player in a number of combinations, including with fellow trombonists J.J. Johnson, Douglas Purviance, Robin Eubanks, Frank Lacy, Britt Woodman and Jimmy Bosch, plus Graciela Perez, Cassandra Wilson, Jon Faddis, Randy Brecker, Stephen Scott, Porthino and Quartette Indigo. An outing with a definite Latin feel, there are eight cuts including Ellington's In A Sentimental Mood.

DOBBIN’S DEN (ON RADIO)

Wednesday, June 11, 1997

CKUT ( 90.3 FM ) 9-11:15 AM

A Doc Cheatham memorial salute, plus more Montreal festival previews.