DOBBIN’S DEN

By Len Dobbin

Posted Thursday, June 26, 1997

Contents

• Last Week in Montreal
• This Week in Montreal
• News and Upcoming Events
• Some Outdoor Festival Suggestions
• Local CD News
• New Releases
• DOBBIN’S DEN (on Radio)

LAST WEEK IN MONTREAL

On Tuesday, June 17, the Concordia University Alumni Association presented Oscar Peterson with the prestigious Loyola Medal. Oscar was in attendance at Concordia Concert Hall, as were about 75 of his Montreal friends, including businessman Harold Smith, who in 1949 was the president and founder of the Oscar Peterson Fan Club here. That's the year that Norman Granz presented Oscar as a surprise guest during a Jazz At The Philharmonic performance at New York's Carnegie Hall, a performance that was the turning point in Peterson's career. Pianist Wray Downes, who had studied with Peterson in Toronto, was on hand with bassist Brian Hurley and drummer Andre White, to play Wheatland from Peterson's Canadiana Suite. Peterson will be playing the Montreal Bistro in Toronto during that city's festival with Dave Young, Martin Drew and Herb Ellis. Oliver Jones will be trekking down to be attend.

On Monday, June 16, there was a reunion of sorts at Biddles between members of the New Jazz and Emanon Jazz societies and the original president of both, Alfred Wade, who looked happy to see members like Billy Georgette and Billy Barwick, who were playing, plus Huguette Rajotte-Schwartz, Anna Cohen, Nancy Jones, Pat Sorrentino, Rene Egli and yours truly. Also in attendance was Vittorio, the man responsible for all those delightful characters used in the Just For Laughs promos. Back in the 50s the Emanon Jazz Society used to hold its meeting in his studios, then located in the building that runs from Drummond to Mountain Streets on the south side of St. Catherine. I remember one meeting where a large contingent from the Woody Herman band, who were doing a week at the Seville Theatre, came down to play. The musicians included Dick Collins, Cy Touff, Bill Perkins, Richie Kamuca, Nat Pierce, Red Kelly and Chuck Flores.

Eva Alford, a jazz singer from Warsaw, Poland, was also present that night. She had sat in the previous evening at Jazzons with Boogie Gaudet, Skip Bey and Tim Jackson. The latter had nothing but great things to say about her singing. She was due to join the Billy Georgette trio for the evening on Monday.

Jeff Johnston and Skip Bey were a joy at Upstairs on Wednesday, as were Joshua Ell with Fraser Hollins and Thom Gossage the following night. The highlight of the week occured at the same spot where Nelson Symonds, in his first club outing since his by-pass surgery of last August, was heard in top-drawer company. Bassist Normand Guilbeault and drummer Claude Lavergne were on the bandstand, along with trombonist Michel Ouellet and special guest, Jean Derome, who doubled on alto sax and flute. Ouellet is currently living in Queens, New York and studying composition with Jimmy Heath and trombone with Steve Turre and Benny Powell. Symonds was in a very mellow mood. The music ranged from standards, including the obscure Ruby, through pieces by Mal Waldron, Cannonball Adderley and Benny Golson.

Diane Dulude's Portraits in Jazz, a 28-photo exhibit, has opened. It's on the walls of the foyer of Salle de Gesù through July 31 and is well worth a visit. In Dulude’s portrait of Ray Anderson, he looks like an opponent in a Rocky film.

THIS WEEK IN MONTREAL

The 18th edition of the jazz festival was set to start with a preview appearance by Manhattan Transfer and the Grover Mitchell-directed Basie band on Wednesday. In the clubs around town you can hear clarinetist/bass clarinetist Mathieu Bélanger at Café Sarajevo on Wednesday. Appearing at a new spot, The Harem Lounge, are Joe Sullivan on Sunday, Andre White on Monday, Tilden Webb on Wednesday and Thom Gossage on Thursday. Skip Bey and Tim Jackson, with guests, are in attendance at Jazzons for the entire festival. U.S. guitarist Ben Monder, with Brian Hurley and Andre White, is at Upstairs on Friday and Saturday with another guitarist, Greg Amirault, hosting the jam session there on Sunday. His brother, pianist Steve Amirault, with his American trio of Sean Conly and Tony Moreno, is hosting the festival jams at the Hotel Meridien except on June 27, when the people from Blue Note Records take over for one night only. Look for some surprises here. The HMV Megastore will again be presenting in-store free concerts. Confirmed are Brad Mehldau and Charlie Haden on Saturday, Eddie Daniels and Michel Donato on Sunday, Diana Krall on Monday and Ranee Lee and Oliver Jones on Thursday. All performances are at 1 PM. On Sunday, July 6, Fred Hersch appears at 4 PM.

NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

With Dave Young unavailable, bassist George Mitchell will be joining drummer Norman Villeneuve in the Oliver Jones trio on July 5 and, at Upstairs, it will be the Wray Downes trio on July 3 in place of Brian Dickinson, as previously announced.

SOME OUTDOOR FESTIVAL SUGGESTIONS

Antonio Hart; the Mike Gauthier Quartet featuring Phil Dwyer; Joel Miller; Roland Vazquez with Walt Weiskopf and Mark Soskin; vocalist Clare Foster with Brian Dickinson; John Nugent with Bruce Barth, Doug Weiss and Adam Cruz; the Vic Vogel big band; Bernie Senensky; Ian McDougall; the Benghazi Saxophone Quartet, which includes Don Palmer and Paul Cram; Altsys; Lorne Lofsky; and Mike Murley.

LOCAL CD NEWS

Soprano saxophone player Monik Nordine has a session consisting of seven of her originals, plus Kenny Wheeler's Everybody's Song But My Own. She searching for a label that will do it justice. The other musicians involved in the project are Aron Doyle, Alex Clements, Tommy Babin and Claude Lavergne.

Vocalist John Labelle's Don't Say No (Jazz Inspiration) is now in release. It's a rare item in that all eleven songs are new originals written by Labelle, except for Steve Amirault's Just Believe. The words and music are first class, with Theme For Montreal ripe for airplay here. Labelle's backed by a tentet arranged and conducted by Bob Parsons, a reedman Amirault met in New York. The musicians contributing to the success of the session are Parsons, Billy Kerr, Kelly Jefferson, Dave Grott, Jocelyn Veilleux (French horn), Bill Mahar, Doyle, Amirault, Alec Walkington and Dave Laing.

NEW RELEASES

Just in time for its festival appearance, is 20th Anniversary, a three-CD box set by the Vienna Art Orchestra (Verve). Each CD is a distinctive entity. Disc One consists of seven Eric Dolphy compositions, plus Fats Waller’s Jitterbug Waltz. Disc Two, Quiet Ways, is a vocal disc with singers Helen Merrill, Sheila Jordan, Linda Sharrock, Betty Carter, Urszula Dudziak, Monica Trotz, Anna Lauvergnac and Yvonne Moore heard in front of the orchestra. Disc Three consists of three original compositions, M (Concerto for Voice and Silence), the first movement of Quelques Petits Moments (Concerto for Trumpet and Chamber Orchestra), Sunaris (for Triangle & Chamber Orchestra) and Short Developments (for Wind quintet). All written in the 90s by leader Mathias Ruegg and recorded by the orchestra in 1996. It’s a superb collection! A warning though- Jitterbug Waltz and an alternate are listed as tracks 8 and 9 with timings of 11:11 and 0:20, but they are in fact both on track 8 (there's no track 9), which consists of music which ends (including applause) at the 3:48 mark. Silence follows though to 10:44 at which point there is another 0:25 of music, which fades out. Radio types take care or you'll either miss the ending or wind up with dead air for almost seven minutes. Weird.

DOBBIN'S DEN (ON RADIO)

Wednesday, July 2, 1997

CKUT (90.3FM) 9 - 11:15 AM