Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » Festival International de Jazz de Montreal 2014
Festival International de Jazz de Montreal 2014
Ambrose Akinmusire By Invitation
Tigran By Invitation
Tord Gustavsen Quartet / Brad Mehldau & Mark Guiliana, Mehliana
June 26-July 6, 2014
There simply isn't a festival in the world like the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. Where else in the world can you find a city where, with a population of well over 1.5 million people, six square blocks are closed down for the entire duration of the festival—in this year's case 11 full days running from June 26 to July 6, 2014? Where can you find a festival that, with six outdoor stages putting on free performances from mid-afternoon until early morning, you can catch some truly world class acts like
Partisans
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1996
Rob Mosher
saxophone, sopranoFor its 35th edition, FIJM had one of its best overall rosters in recent years. With three By Invitation series guests including Harry Manx,
Ambrose Akinmusire
trumpetb.1982
Tigran Hamasyan
piano
Bill Frisell
guitar, electricb.1951
Brad Mehldau
pianob.1970
Charlie Hunter
guitarb.1967
Kevin Breit
guitarLarge scale shows featured a terrific mix of performers this year as well. Singers including
Cassandra Wilson
vocalsb.1955
Dianne Reeves
vocalsb.1956
Stacey Kent
vocalsb.1968
Ginger Baker
drums1939 - 2019
Marcus Miller
bassb.1959
Terence Blanchard
trumpetb.1962
Oliver Jones
pianob.1934
Keith Jarrett
pianob.1945
Elvis Costello
vocalsb.1954
Bobby McFerrin
vocalsb.1950
Mark Guiliana
drums
Fred Hersch
pianob.1955
Ben Sidran
piano and vocalsb.1943
Peter Bernstein
guitarb.1967
Tony Bennett
vocals1926 - 2023
Aretha Franklin
vocals1942 - 2018
Diana Ross
vocals
B.B. King
guitar, electric1925 - 2015
Daniel Lanois
guitarb.1951
A truly international festival, up-and-comers and/or talent deserving wider recognition were represented by Israel's
Shai Maestro
pianob.1987
Baptiste Trotignon
pianob.1974
Charnett Moffett
bass1967 - 2022
Tord Gustavsen
pianob.1970
Kenny Garrett
saxophone, altob.1960
Joe Lovano
drumsb.1952
Tom Harrell
trumpetb.1946
Rudresh Mahanthappa
saxophone, altob.1971
Gary Peacock
bass, acoustic1935 - 2020
Marc Copland
pianob.1948
Joey Baron
drumsb.1955
Jeff Ballard
drumsb.1963
Christian McBride
bassb.1972
Dr. Lonnie Smith
organ, Hammond B31942 - 2021
Monty Alexander
pianob.1944
Felix Pastorius
drumsAnd that's but a small sampling of the myriad of fine performers that came to FIJM this year to help celebrate its 35th anniversary. While it was only possible to attend the festival for five days, after covering nine days at the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival, there were simply too many choices to make, and so one way to simplify and still catch a broad range of projects was to choose the two By Invitation series hosts—Ambrose Akinmusire and Tigran Hamasyan (now going solely by his first name, Tigran)—and fleshing those five early evening shows out with performances by Mehliana and Tord Gustavsen. There were so many choices that it was almost possible to be driven crazy trying to make the right choice but, at the end of the day, there are no right or wrong choices, only the best guesses at what will provide the broadest representation of FIJM's 450 performances.
June 29: Ambrose Akinmusire By Invitation with Bill Frisell
"I used to play along to your records when I was in High School," said trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire when introducing guitarist Bill Frisell for a duo set at Gésu that seemed over before it began, so consistently beautiful, so pure and organic, and so completely in-tune with each other were these two players representing two different generations. Akinmusire may have been, to some degree, in awe of the fact that now, perhaps 15 years later, he was on a stage at one of the world's most famous jazz festivals playing with one of his heroes; what was, perhaps, even more touching was how happy Frisell appeared to be playing with this 32 year-old trumpeter who has, over just the past few years, established himself as a player of significance (winner of the 2007 Thelonious Monk International Trumpet Competition) and a bandleader of equal import, with his two Blue Note recordings—2011's When the Heart Emerges Glistening and 2014's The Imagined Savior is Far Easier to Paint—receiving both critical and popular acclaim.
On Gésu's stage—with a single microphone for Akinmusire and Frisell up front and close to the trumpeter—a variety of effects pedals set up by the guitarist's feet, with two Fender amplifiers spread far apart behind him on stage right—there was as much open space on the stage as there was in the music the two played during their relatively short 50-minute set, not including two encores demanded from a packed house that was simply not prepared to let the duo go with just one.
While much of what the two played was unrecognizable, there were two pieces that were both identifiable and clear highlights. First, a deep look at the traditional tune "Shenandoah," a song that Frisell has covered more than once, including on his 1999 Nonesuch album Good Dog, Happy Man, on his double-disc East/West, and on his Live Download Series #13: 2001-07-21 Tokyo, Japan set with regular trio mates
Tony Scherr
bass
Kenny Wollesen
drumsUsing the same Telecaster-based guitar as he did in Ottawa a few evenings prior—the first time, at least in recent memory, that Frisell has used an instrument with a whammy bar—Frisell's ears were wide open as he took cues from Akinmusire but also pushed the trumpeter in unexpected directions for the set-closing version of the guitarist's own "Throughout"—a tune that appeared on his very first solo album, Throughout (ECM, 1983) but which he has revisited many times, including the same Tokyo show with Scherr and Wollesen where he played "Shenandoah." A spare tune with a simple melody line, Ambrose used a repetitive single note, employing extended techniques to give it timbral variety, as Frisell demonstrated his remarkable ability to self-accompany, using open strings and/or held notes as he layered chordal motion and linear phrases, sometimes with the addition of effects that created oblique loops shot into the stratosphere with a pitch shifter.
The result was truly music of the heavens; a cinematic performance by just two musicians that set a high bar for Akinmusire's two nights to follow. Akinmusire barely moved at all, while Frisell rocked gently back and forth as he created lush warm colors over which the trumpeter could layer lines that rarely demonstrated overt virtuosity but, instead, oftentimes made the trumpeter's unmistakable instrumental prowess crystal clear by the notes he chose not to play rather than those he did. Musicians that reach this level of expertise and creativity have nothing to prove, a liberating freedom that allows them to make music that makes sense in the context within which it lives, rather than music that's a vehicle for "look at me" pyrotechnics. Neither "Throughout" nor "Shenandoah" required any kind of high octane, rapid fire playing; instead, they demanded an adherence to overall structure while allowing for complete and utter interpretive freedom—the kind of freedom made all the more impressive when it's players like Akinmusire and Frisell, who both possess the kinds of ears that allow them to respond, almost at the speed of thought, to what their partners are doing.
In the case of Akinmusire and Frisell, they were so in synch that it's hard to believe the two have rarely performed together before. Based upon their duo set at FIJM, this is a relationship that needs to continue, and one that would be well-served by a recording, whether a commercial release on either of the player's labels, or as part of Frisell's Live Download Series. Here's hoping someone was recording the show at the soundboard.
Jun 30: Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet By Invitation
Having seen Akinmusire at the 2012 Trondheim Jazz Festival with a trimmed-down quartet, the second evening of his By Invitation series at FIJM provided a great opportunity to hear the young trumpeter with his full quintet at many festival-goers' favorite venue, Gésu—Centre de Créativité. Saxophonist
Walter Smith III
saxophone, tenorb.1980
Sam Harris
bassb.1986
Harish Raghavan
bass
Justin Brown
drumsExplaining that most of the members of his quintet are friends he met as far back as high school (Brown) and university (Harris and Raghavan), and meeting Smith on the scene in Los Angeles, he spoke of being 15 and "dreaming of opportunities like this," pausing and then saying to the full house audience, with a chuckle, "I guess this is more about me than you...but I'm glad y'all are here." Akinmusire's music may seem serious—rigorous, at times, even—but the camaraderie shared by everyone in the group was clear, as Akinmusire stood towards the rear of the stage between Raghavan and Brown at one point early in the nearly 90-minute set, his eyes closed, head nodding back and forth and uttering the occasional "Whoo!" while Smith took one of a number of superb solos.
Akinmusire focused largely on music from The Imagined Savior is Far Easier to Paint, specifically the lyrical "Vertha," The Beauty of Dissolving Portrait"—here turned from a the chamber jazz version on record, with string quartet and flute, into a tumultuous rubato exploration—and the knotty "Bubbles," alongside music from When the Heart Merges Glistening, a particularly wonderful duo with Harris, "What's New," that was the first of two encores; the second featuring the full quintet before a brief piece that seemed to act as
Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991
Akinmusire's virtuosity was on far greater display this second evening—as was true of his entire group—in contrast to his more restrained, spare work the night before with Frisell; but there was not a single moment when it felt like it was anything but a means to a wholly musical end, even when the music became abstract and abstruse. Brown was particularly impressive, a veritable force of nature who often created a relentless maelstrom of sound beneath the group, with only Raghavan holding things down.
As fine as Akinmusire's Trondheim performance was, hearing Smith with the group made clear just how different Akinmusire's band is when he's with them. A saxophonist whose career was already established prior to joining up with Akinmusire—his Introducing Walter Smith III (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2006) an impressive leader debut—at 34, just two years older than Akinmusire, Smith's upward trajectory had already commenced through work with artists ranging from
Kendrick Scott
drumsb.1980
Sean Jones
trumpetb.1978
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
trumpetb.1983
With three new songs also included in the set, Akinmusire is clearly a hard-working trumpeter, composer and bandleader who has just begun to deliver on promises made early in his career, when he could be found on albums like pianist
Alan Pasqua
pianob.1952
David Binney
saxophone, altob.1961
Joel Harrison
guitar, electricb.1957
June 30: Tord Gustavsen Quartet
Tord Gustavsen
pianob.1970
Gustavsen's evolution was as gradual as it's ever been, but with
Mats Eilertsen
bassb.1975
Tore Brunborg
saxophoneb.1960
Jarle Vespestad
drumsGustavsen got the idea from
In The Country
band / ensemble / orchestra
Morten Qvenild
pianoIt was a bit of a strange performance, for reasons beyond the group's control. During the quartet's first couple of tunes, the house lights kept flashing up and down, creating a real distraction for the audience that went largely unnoticed by the band. As Gustavsen picked up a microphone and began to speak, a surprisingly large percentage of the audiences leaped to its feet and began yelling "fix the lights" en Fran?ais; it clearly shocked the pianist, who had no idea what was going on, until a technician came onstage, took the microphone and announced that there was a technical problem, and that there would be a short break to allow them to correct the problem.
The group returned roughly 15 minutes later, with the lighting problem fixed and the audience back to being in a much better, more receptive mood—the lesson learned being that Montréal audiences are famous for their enthusiastic reception, but clearly you don't mess with them either (!). But with Gustavsen's elegant demeanor and even gentler approach to his instrument, it wasn't long before the group had the audience in its sway, performing material from Extended Circle like "Devotion," which the pianist described as an adaptation of the "Hallelujah" section of mass that he'd been commissioned to write in Norway; and the gentle "Right There," which Gustavsen used to start the program after the lighting problem was resolved, and which utilized the hyper piano to great effect, despite being so subtle as to be barely discernible. Perhaps not even noticeable to much of the audience, instead, it was something more felt than heard.
While always a player whose objective is to respect the music and never overplay, Gustavsen's performance was, perhaps, more overtly virtuosic than normal, a consequence of this particular group of musicians' ability to both respond to Gustavsen's often subtle cues and even more rarefied thematic constructs, as well as gently drive him towards unexpected territory. A Gustavsen performance is invariably very accessible, but not in a way that sacrifices either musical substance or risk, and this performance was no different: Brunborg, whether playing tenor saxophone or curved soprano, was as concerned with the tone of every note as he was the way his notes actually strung together; Vespestad, a drummer capable of great power in groups like
Farmers Market
band / ensemble / orchestraThe result was a performance that, despite being slightly marred by a technical problem in the hall, was even better than Gustavsen's 2010 TD Ottawa Jazz Festival performance—no mean feat. But with the pianist continuing to demonstrate a painstaking approach to change—in particular the very new addition of hyper piano to his palette (this was only his second performance to use it)—along with an ensemble that adheres to his aesthetic while at the same time, driving the pianist into unexpected territory, it was clear that there is still plenty of potential available for this superlative quartet to explore.
July 1: Ambrose Akinmusire By Invitation with Tigran
The Festival International de Jazz De Montréal has been running its By Invitation series for much of its three-plus decade history, and while placing two By Invitation artists back-to-back so that the first artist collaborates, on his/her final night, with the second—in effect passing the baton—is not exactly rare, it's also not exactly a regular occurrence either; but that's exactly what happened at the 35th edition of FIJM. After a glorious duo encounter with guitarist Bill Frisell, followed by a stellar evening with his regular working quintet, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire closed out his extremely successful three-night By Invitation run by inviting pianist/keyboardist Tigran for an evening that wrapped up the trumpeter's series in high style while, at the same time, opening the door to the Armenian pianist's own By Invitation series, where he performed in duo with renowned pianist
Brad Mehldau
pianob.1970
For Tigran's collaboration with Akinmusire, the two were joined by one member of Tigran's Shadow Theater group, bassist
Sam Minaie
bassThe evening opened in particularly incendiary fashion with "As We Fight," an Akinmusire composition from the trumpeter's The Imagined Savior is Far Easier to Paint, with Tigran delivering the first of many definitive solos; an intense and very physical player, Tigran could be seen, at times, with his head down almost on the keys, or literally jumping out of his seat and coming back down with a powerful crash on his piano. Akinmusire, too, was on fire, bolstered by Minaie's potent electric bass and Brown's maelstrom-like approach to his kit. Minaie and Brown then left the stage, opening up a dark-hued duo between Akinmusire and Tigran that, based on a traditional Armenian song, was still an unexpectedly modernistic look at the tradition, with Tigran delivering another superb, motif-driven solo filled with powerful flourishes, the pianist dramatically raising his arm above the keyboard after a particularly impressive passage.
Minaie (on double bass this time) and Brown returned to the stage for the title track to Tigran's solo piano record, A Fable (Verve, 2011)—its lilting melody played by Akinmusire with a particularly burnished tone and clearly referencing Tigran's Armenian roots before opening up to a pedal-tone-driven middle section that gave both the pianist and trumpeter room to explore in more modal fashion, the big smile on Akinmusire's face during Tigran's extended solo just one example of how much fun the group was having together.
When Akinmusire stepped up to the microphone to introduce the band and the music, his saying that this three-night By Invitation series was "the most life-changing thing I've done in my musical career to date" was, for any who'd attended all of his shows—excellent all—a statement of the obvious. It's rare for FIJM to invite a musician as young as Akinmusire to the By Invitation series, but this is an artist who has accomplished, in his still relatively nascent career, more than many twice his age.
Akinmusire went on to describe how he'd first run into Tigran at a UCLA party, where the pianist was in the living room with an electric keyboard and two small speakers, "just going at it." Praising the pianist and, before launching into The Painted Savior's haunting "Ceaseless Inexhaustible Child," joking with Tigran that "this is actually where you're supposed to say something nice about me," it was clear that, whether or not Tigran spoke any actual words about the trumpeter, his respect and admiration were absolutely clear throughout the set. Here, however, he moved from piano to his electric keyboards, initially eking out a sound not unlike a pedal steel guitar, but with a hint of the Fender Rhodes at its core as well. A beautiful ballad that was more light and optimistic than Tigran's Armenian folk song earlier in a set that ran well over 90 minutes—another indication of how much fun the group was having, given these sets are usually intended to be 60-75 minutes—following a spare, near-vocal solo from Akinmusire, Tigran contributed an electro-centric solo that was as much (or more) about color and texture as it was melody and chordal movement. It was a wonderful respite before Akinmusire launched into the next piece a cappella, his technical mastery at its most overt as he effortlessly leapt across broad intervals, layered cascading lines and, in just a few short minutes, provided all the justification necessary for his invitation to the series.
One of many high points in a set loaded with them came when Tigran and Akinmusire each took a turn reinventing a jazz standard alone in trio with Minaie and Brown, each player demonstrating, in very different ways, just how relevant this material still is, a half century or more since its inception. The four then came together for a complex set-closer defined by irregular meters and a knotty arrangement that also provided an ostinato-driven opportunity for Brown to solo—a drummer who, in just a single decade, has become an in-demand player for artists across a broad spectrum of music, ranging from
Gerald Clayton
piano
Josh Roseman
tromboneWhile it was not surprising that Gésu was filled for Akinmusire's opening night duo with festival regular Bill Frisell, that the house was similarly packed—and would not let the trumpeter go without at least one encore each night, in this case a soft piano/trumpet duo that shone a huge spotlight on Akinmusire's distinctive tone and embouchure—was a testimony to the young trumpeter's rapid rise to both critical and popular acclaim. If this three-night By Invitation series was a life-changing, musical high point in his career to date, it's almost impossible to imagine what milestones are ahead for this innovative, uncompromising musician...but one thing is certain: it will be an absolute pleasure to join him for the ride.
July 2: Tigran By Invitation with Brad Mehldau
That Brad Mehldau's meteoric rise to critical and popular acclaim in the jazz world now dates back nearly two decades is remarkable in itself, given the pianist is only 43 years old. But in a career that's ranged from the acoustic focus of his first marvelous trio, documented on The Art of the Trio: Recordings 1996-2001 (Nonesuch, 2011), to his recent electronics/progressive rock-tinged work with drummer
Mark Guiliana
drumsFor Armenian pianist Tigran—2006 winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition—the idea of being a By Invitation artist for whom playing in a duo setting with Mehldau may have been ..."a dream come true for me...as I have been listening to him since I was 13 years old," but if there's one thing his 90+ minute set at Gésu demonstrated to a packed house was that Mehldau may be the more established of the two, but Tigran easily held his own, whether performing twin-piano duos that felt even larger thanks to Mehldau's remarkable "two hands sounding like four" technique, or Tigran switching to his heavily effected Fender Rhodes, allowing the duo to go to places for which the audience may well have been unprepared.
With two such talented—and virtuosic—players, the possibility of train wrecks where they might step on each other's toes was completely averted, the result of both pianists possessing the kind of ears that kept close attention on what the other was doing—as well as a general tendency for Tigran to occupy the upper half of the piano while Mehldau stayed in the lower register of his instrument—exemplified beautifully in their look at Tigran's "The Year is Gone," from his Shadow Theater album that would form the basis for his second By Invitation performance the following day.
Driven by Mehldau's relentless forward motion, this version may have lacked the electronics and voices found on the album original, but it did feel far more open, as the two pianists faced each other from across two grand pianos placed together like two very large pieces of a puzzle. Mehldau may have an edge on the virtuosity front, but there's also seventeen years distancing the 43 year-old pianist from his 26 year-old partner. And if he did have a slight edge, it was less than noticeable as Tigran—whose duet with live sampler
Jan Bang
live samplingb.1968
While the set contained a number of overtly impressive pieces, some of the more captivating ones were those where the two pianists surrendered completely to the demands of more elegant and rarefied music...oftentimes either taken from traditional Armenian music or, in one beautiful case towards the end of the duo's set, a piece of religious music.
During the one piece where he moved to Rhodes, Tigran demonstrated his own very personal and natural approach to the integration of electronics, one which was significantly different from Mehldau's own emphasis on electric piano and synth at his Mehliana performance later that evening. But the real high points in this set was when the two were both at their grand pianos, finding ways to navigate either original material or, in the case of a version of "I Remember You," so radically re-harmonized as to be nearly unrecognizable beyond the first bar of the memorable melody.
After playing together for much of the set, and before concluding with a stunning duo performance—where it first appeared that Tigran was going to return to his electric setup but then decided otherwise and returned to his grand—each player took the opportunity to deliver one solo piece: Mehldau's case an unidentified piece that emphasized his roots in Bach and fugues; in Tigran's a chance to play an Armenian religious prayer; in both cases sublime performances that, as clearly masterful as each pianist was, also demonstrated their complete and utter respect for the song at hand.
It was a great chance to hear two masters of their instrument—one, fully established, the other quickly catching up—where neither had anything to prove, making their collaboration more a meeting of two minds where the result truly transcended individual contribution.
July 2: Brad Mehldau & Mark Guiliana: Mehliana
When Brad Mehldau and drummer
Mark Guiliana
drumsAs it turns out, however, Taming the Dragon was a total and wonderful surprise—a tremendous album that combined spoken word with high octane, progressive-leaning music that was everything the duo's Vossa Jazz performance was not, an album that, for those who can get past Mehldau the groundbreaking acoustic pianist, might even be a considered a classic with the passage of time.
And so, with such a pleasant surprise (sometimes it's nice to be wrong), after a solo piano performance at the festival earlier in the week and his duo with Tigran earlier that same evening, it was a great opportunity to re-experience Mehliana once again, and find out if the prior judgment of its Vossa Jazz set was, if not exactly wrong, at the very least reflective of a less-than-great night that even the best musicians occasionally have, rather than a complete indictment of the duo.
Catching the first of two sets at L'Astral, the roughly 600-standing/350-seated club venue that—opened by FIJM when christening its Maison du Festival at the festival's 30th anniversary in 2009—has become a state of the art, year-round jazz club for the city, it was a special treat to report that not only was the packed house primed for the show (many clearly knowing the record, and well), but that Mehliana gave a performance that delivered on its earlier unfulfilled promise.
It's rare to see Mehldau break out into a glowing smile, his expression of pleasure more often than not a somewhat wry grin; but he was clearly enjoying himself with Guiliana—a drummer who first broke into the jazz world with Israeli bassist
Avishai Cohen
bassb.1970
Gretchen Parlato
vocals
Lionel Loueke
guitarb.1973
Jason Lindner
keyboards
Donny McCaslin
saxophone, tenorb.1966
Mehldau hasn't completely deserted his grand piano with Mehliana, but as was the case at L'Astral, it was but one of a broad palette of tonal colors available to him as the duo performed a number of tracks from the album, including a particularly evocative version of "Hungry Ghost" that received a round of applause as the pianist launched into its core pattern of three descending chords. Montréal audiences have a worldwide reputation for being one of the most enthusiastic, but their familiarity with the music was even more impressive, and as Mehldau delivered a staggeringly fine Rhodes solo, building things even further when he dialed in some dense synth tones, their enthusiasm was clearly well-justified.
A downright funky version of "Sassyassed Sassafrass" was another high point: with Guiliana taking more liberty with the time than on the recording, it was another example of Mehldau's remarkable reach. His inimitable technique allowed him to create in-the-moment layers that would normally require two pairs of hands to negotiate, but beyond that—something that, by this point in his career, has become something to be expected—it was his command over color and texture that was the real touchstone of Mehliana's performance. That Mehldau and Guiliana have developed a most personal vernacular should come as little surprise; that it has extended beyond the harmonic, the melodic and the rhythmic into something most decidedly textural, with both players demonstrating complete control and imagination when it comes to the nature of sound, is something that is of greater surprise...and import.
That Mehliana, now nearly two year old, continues to tour hopefully means that this will not be a one-off affair like 2002's Largo (Warner Bros.)—the first indication that Mehldau was more than a fine acoustic player reinventing the piano trio tradition, as he brought in well-known producer Jon Brion for a collection of tunes the likes of which surprised even the most die-hard Mehldau fan. With albums like Taming the Dragon and performances like that heard at L'Astral, this is a duo that absolutely needs to continue; as impressive as its 2014 FIJM performance was, it was even more important in its suggesting that there's still plenty more for this duo to explore and discover together.
July 3: Tigran By Invitation: Shadow Theater
Montréal audiences are , indeed, renowned the world over for their enthusiasm, but they might well have taken things up another notch in their reception for Tigran and his Shadow Theater performance, the second of two By Invitation evenings under his own name and his third night in Montréal after taking the baton passed by trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire two nights prior, when he invited the pianist to collaborate with him on the last of his three-night By Invitation run.
Tags
ambrose akinmusire
Live Reviews
John Kelman
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
Canada
Montreal
Partisans
Rob Mosher
Tigran Hamasyan
Bill Frisell
brad mehldau
Charlie Hunter
Kevin Breit
Cassandra Wilson
Dianne Reeves
Stacey Kent
Ginger Baker
Marcus Miller
Terence Blanchard
Oliver Jones
Keith Jarrett
Elvis Costello
Bobby McFerrin
Mark Guiliana
Fred Hersch
ben sidran
Peter Bernstein
Tony Bennett
Aretha Franklin
Diana Ross
B.B. King
Daniel Lanois
Shai Maestro
Baptiste Trotignon
Charnett Moffet
Tord Gustavsen
Kenny Garrett
joe lovano
Tom Harrell
Rudresh Mahanthappa
Gary Peacock
Marc Copland
Joey Baron
Jeff Ballard
Christian McBride
Dr. Lonnie Smith
Monty Alexander
Felix Pastorius
Tony Scherr
Kenny Wollesen
Walter Smith III
Sam Harris
Harish Raghavan
Justin Brown
Miles Davis
Kendrick Scott
Sean Jones
CHRISTIAN SCOTT
Alan Pasqua
David Binney
Joel Harrison
Mats Eilertsen
Tore Brunborg
Jarle Vespestad
In the Country
Morten Qvenild
Farmers Market
Sam Minaie
Gerald Clayton
Josh Roseman
Jan Bang
Avishai Cohen
Gretchen Parlato
Lionel Loueke
Jason Lindner
Donny McCaslin
Charles Altura
Chick Corea
Arthur Hnatek
Bill Bruford
pat metheny
Nik Bartsch
Comments
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Support All About Jazz
All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.
Go Ad Free!
To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.
Montreal
Concert Guide | Venue Guide | Local Businesses
| More...
Montreal Concerts
Sep
17
Wed
Les Mercredis Jazz X Terrasse
Le Balcon
Montreal, Canada
Sep
18
Thu
Les Jeudis Jazz Jam X Terrasse
Le Balcon
Montreal, Canada
Sep
18
Thu
Saku Mantere, Album Release (divine Apology)
Diese Onze
Montreal, Canada
Sep
18
Thu
Hermeto Pascoal
Place Des Arts - Cinquième Salle
Montréal, Canada
Sep
24
Wed
Les Mercredis Jazz X Terrasse
Le Balcon
Montreal, Canada
Sep
25
Thu
Les Jeudis Jazz Jam X Terrasse
Le Balcon
Montreal, Canada
Oct
1
Wed
Jazz Jam Night
Le Balcon
Montreal, Canada
Oct
1
Wed
Les concerts Jazz Cabaret Chic
Le Balcon
Montreal, Canada
Oct
2
Thu
Best of Jazz & Blues
Le Balcon
Montreal, Canada
Oct
5
Sun
Kate Wyatt Trio Murmurations Album Launch (6:30 show)
Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill
Montreal, Canada
Showcase
Featured
Darwin AI: Surivior Choice
By Alex Otey buy
Carnaval - The Songs Were So Beautiful
By Antonio Adolfo buy
Giveaway
Featured Playlist
Premium
Weekly newsletter
Get more of a good thing
Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories and includes your local jazz events calendar.
Montreal
Concert Guide | Venue Guide | Local Businesses | More...
Sep
17
Wed
Les Mercredis Jazz X Terrasse
Le BalconMontreal, Canada
Sep
18
Thu
Les Jeudis Jazz Jam X Terrasse
Le BalconMontreal, Canada
Sep
18
Thu
Saku Mantere, Album Release (divine Apology)
Diese OnzeMontreal, Canada
Sep
18
Thu
Hermeto Pascoal
Place Des Arts - Cinquième SalleMontréal, Canada
Sep
24
Wed
Les Mercredis Jazz X Terrasse
Le BalconMontreal, Canada
Sep
25
Thu
Les Jeudis Jazz Jam X Terrasse
Le BalconMontreal, Canada
Oct
1
Wed
Jazz Jam Night
Le BalconMontreal, Canada
Oct
1
Wed
Les concerts Jazz Cabaret Chic
Le BalconMontreal, Canada
Oct
2
Thu
Best of Jazz & Blues
Le BalconMontreal, Canada
Oct
5
Sun
Kate Wyatt Trio Murmurations Album Launch (6:30 show)
Upstairs Jazz Bar & GrillMontreal, Canada
Showcase
Buy Now
Featured
Darwin AI: Surivior Choice
By Alex Otey buy
Carnaval - The Songs Were So Beautiful
By Antonio Adolfo buyGiveaway
