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Sweet Soul Music and the Low Down Dirty Blues at the Montreal Jazz Festival
The marquee on Stax Records studio in Memphis, Tennessee reads "Soulsville U.S.A." Although "Soulsville of the North" may be a stretch, for 10 days in July, Montreal turns into a hotbed of Soul, R&B, Funk and the Blues. From the first years of the festival onwards, the Montreal Jazz Festival has featured iconic artists such as
Stevie Wonder
vocalsb.1950
Aretha Franklin
vocals1942 - 2018
Diana Ross
vocals
Ray Charles
piano and vocals1930 - 2004
B.B. King
guitar, electric1925 - 2015
"It was a hot and steamy night in Montreal" is not a phrase you hear uttered very often. Of course, that assumes we are talking about weather not pulp novels. It was simply sweltering (mid 90s and very humid) when
"
data-original-title="" title="">Deva Mahal took the stage for the first of 2 excellent sets. She performed in front of a large and enthusiastic audience, perhaps numbering more than 40,000 people. I didn't actually count heads, so that is my best estimate. Deva is the daughter of legendary bluesman and "world music" pioneer, 
Taj Mahal
guitar and vocalsb.1942
The Suffers
band / ensemble / orchestra
Tower of Power
band / ensemble / orchestrab.1968
The British Soul Invasion has produced a number of excellent artists such Adele, Corrine Bailey Rae and the late great Amy Winehouse. UK soul singer " data-original-title="" title="">Hannah Williams leads a crack rock and soul band, the Affirmations, which liberally draws on sounds of the sixties. They were also listed among the must-see bands in various publications and they delivered in spades. I caught the second of two sets and it was easily one of the highlights of this year's festival. The eight piece band has some sonic resemblance to the great soul reviews of the late 60s and early 70s. It features sax, trombone, keyboard, guitar, bass, drums and two backup vocalists. The horns feature most prominently, but there's a nice balance of sounds in the musical mix. I was reading a press release from her booking agency and they say "Hannah Williams is a whirlwind of soul, love, lust and anger that leaves behind tatters of whichever stage she graces." I wish I had said that first, but cannot say it any better. She has a powerful voice and is an incredibly dynamic emotional performer that coaxes every last ounce of energy she has and leaves it all on the stage. Among the highlights of the set was a killer version of Dazed and Confused (best known as a Led Zeppelin song). This was played as a horn-driven psychedelic funk number and it worked incredibly well. Williams voice has been compared to many other singers including " data-original-title="" title="">Janis Joplin. However, on Dazed and Confused, she sounds a lot like Ann Wilson (of Heart) who incidentally also performs this song. Another highlight was the lead single, Tame in the Water off their excellent album, Late Nights and Heartbreaks. In short, this was simply a fantastic performance.
Zara McFarlane
vocals
Nina Simone
piano and vocals1933 - 2003
Soul music is more of kind of feeling or means of expression in song rather than a narrowly conceived genre. No singer sang with more soul and depth of feeling than the late great Cesaria Evora from Cape Verde, an island country off the west coast of Africa. " data-original-title="" title="">Elida Almeida is a young singer who hails from the same country. At the show in Montreal, she paid tribute to Evora, whose Morna music was clearly a significant influence. However, much of Elida's music is joyous, up tempo and shows a broad range of influences. She is a wonderfully charismatic performer and I absolutely loved what I saw of her concert. " data-original-title="" title="">Banda Magda is a multi-cultural group led by Greek-American artists led by songwriter, vocalist and accordionist,
Magda Giannikou
vocalsThe Metropolis, rebranded MTelus after Canadian wireless giant bought the naming rights, is a cavernous large club/performance space. It suffers from poor sound and mediocre site lines (depending on where you are positioned). However, it has a large floor space and can be a great place for a blowout party. I've had the pleasure of seeing stellar performances by bands such as
Bootsy Collins
bass, electricb.1951
The Roots
band / ensemble / orchestra
"
data-original-title="" title="">Janelle Monae at Metropolis. At the 2011 jazzfest, 
Prince
multi-instrumentalist1958 - 2016
Cory Henry
keyboardsb.1987
Snarky Puppy
band / ensemble / orchestraThe Blues Stage is one of the most popular at the Montreal Jazz Festival. It gets a great turnout of more raucous fans, someone of whom only show up for the blues shows. I didn't get there are as often as I would have liked this past year. But I did see a fabulous performance by
Thornetta Davis
vocalsGeorge Thorogood was the fifth recipient of the B.B. King Award for his contributions to blues music. The truth is that I only caught the first song of the set and can't really review the concert, but the opening is worth noting. Just before their entrance, Eve of Destruction—the original version by Barry McGuire played over the sound system. It wasn't meant as a political statement, but a warning for the impending musical carnage to be delivered by the Delaware Destroyers. Then a boxing ring announcer's voice is heard saying "Ladies and gentlemen, it's now time for the main event, the undisputed, undefeated heavyweight rock and roll champion of the world—George Thorogood and the Destroyers." The band then made its entrance to a laser light show more reminiscent of 70s arena rockers than a workingman's blues band. To their credit, the band came on with guns blazing and delivered a full throttle version of Ain't Coming Home Tonight. Thorogood at age 68, has lost nothing off his fastball as either a guitarist or as a performer. Unfortunately, I had to miss what I understand was a great show, but had to run off to photograph
Bela Fleck
banjob.1958
Jazz drumming great,
Jerry Granelli
drums1940 - 2021
Robben Ford
guitarb.1951
Bob Lanzetti
guitarb.1980
Okay, this is getting kind of long. But I did want to note that next year is the 40th anniversary of the Montreal International Jazz Festival. They are already dropping hints that next year will be something really special. Every year, there is a Grand Spectacle, free outdoor show featuring a popular artist that draws in excess of 100,000 artists. The years ending in 0s are causes for an even greater celebration. Stevie Wonder performed at this event on the 30th anniversary of the festival and he was just superb —an inspired choice. It will be hard to top that. There is already speculation as to who will perform at this main event next year. They will invariably invite an artist with broad appeal. The selected artist is unlikely to be a jazz performer, though
Pat Metheny
guitarb.1954
"
data-original-title="" title="">Drake is an immensely popular Canadian artist, but he lacks a certain cross generational appeal. Arcade Fire are a Montreal based indie-rock band with broad popularity and they are also a phenomenal live band. Although I would be happy with their selection, they don't quite hit that mass appeal sweet spot either. A fellow festival photographer proposed 
Paul McCartney
bass, electricb.1942
Tags
In Pictures
Dave Kaufman
Canada
Montreal
Stevie Wonder
Aretha Franklin
Diana Ross
Ray Charles
B.B. King
Deva Mahal
Taj Mahal
Suffers
Kam Franklin
Kool and the Gang
Tower of Power
Al Green
Barry White
jny=Houston
Adele
Corrine Bailey Rae
amy winehouse
Hannah Williams
Led Zeppelin
Janis Joplin
Zara McFarlane
Nina Simone
Cesaria Evora
Elida Almeida
Banda Magda
Magda Giannikou
Bootsy Collins
The Roots
Amadou and Mariam
Janelle Monáe
Cory Henry
Thornetta Davis
George Thorogood
Barry McGuire
Bela Fleck
Jerry Granelli
Robben Ford
Bob Lanzetti
pat metheny
Drake
Arcade Fire
Paul McCartney
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