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l'Oumigmag
l’Oumigmag is a jazz and avant-folk quintet based in Quebec, Canada. Recognized for its innovative and resolutely creative approach, the ensemble’s sound combines the roots of the music of Quebec fiddlers with lively contemporary grooves.
Bringing together influences as varied as Portico Quartet, The Gloaming and Nik Bärtsch, the group creates music that is enveloping, contemplative and energizing.Their sound simultaneously resonates with echoes of the past, an assertive present and innovative sounds. The quintet explores hidden cycles in traditional tunes, questioning our relationship to time, cycles and traditions through powerful grooves and luminous sounds.
Their highly anticipated new album is to be released in January 2025.
l’Oumigmag is :
Sébastien Sauvageau - Guitars and synthesizer / Dâvi Simard - Violin, feet / Alex Dodier - Saxophones, bass clarinet and synthesizer / Stéphane Diamantakiou - Double bass and electric bass / Sam Joly - Drum
Awards
Research and creation Grant Québec Art Council Production Grant Canada Art Council Territoires - Best of jazz 2017 Radio-Canada Territoires Jazz album of the year - GAMIQ Public's choice Festival International de Jazz de Rimouski 2017 Territoires Musicaction Grant 2017
Tags
l'Oumigmag: Ce Qui Tourne Dans L'Air

by David Bruggink
"Oumigmag" means muskox" in Inuktitut, one of the principal Inuit languages spoken in Canada's northeast and central northern provinces. Sébastien Sauvageau, a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Québec, drew on his province's musical and Indigenous histories to create the jazz-folk project l'Oumigmag--an effort, he writes, to explore how past elements (traditional music), present experiences, and future innovations coexist and influence one another." l'Oumigmag debuted as a quartet on Territoires (The 270 Sessions, 2017), expanded to a sextet for ...
Continue Readingl'Oumigmag: Habitant

by Matt Hooke
L'Oumigmag's Habitant is an ambitious reimagining of traditional Quebecois folk, based on the environment and natural beauty of the area around the St. Lawrence River. It has a feeling of comfort that is often reminiscent of a friendly bluegrass jam. Habitant is a reference to the first French settlers of the St. Lawrence River. The record is a tribute to them, not only with a primarily acoustic sound but with a great sense of adventure. The adventure is ...
Continue ReadingSébastien Sauvageau - l'Oumigmag: Territoires

by Mark Sullivan
l'Oumigmag means muskox in Inukitut (the Inuit language spoken in the central and eastern Canadian arctic, which includes Quebec). Territoires is an impressionistic journey through the imaginary, spiritual and geographic territories of Quebec. Guitarist/composer Sébastien Sauvageau took inspiration from contemporary jazz and traditional music. Opener Lac Arthabaska" (Lake Arthabaska) starts the album on a bright, upbeat note. Sauvageau's acoustic guitar and Alex Dodier's tenor saxophone front line call an ECM date with Jan Garbarek to mind. The introduction ...
Continue Reading★★★★ 1/2 "L'Oumigmag captures the sound of the trees and water that the first Habitant's lived in. Though the almost ineffable qualities of nature are hard to capture, L'Oumigmag, through the use of primarily acoustic textures and the playful rhythmic patterns, express the organic variations within the natural world. Habitant uses old standards to make the passage of time go from the world of the abstract to the physical world, drawing a line from those first settlers to the people who live in Quebec today. A stunning achievement." Matt Hooke, All About Jazz "Juste incroyable ! That was the reaction of the audience to this afternoon’s performance by L’Oumigmag