Articles by Riel Lazarus

Montreal Jazz Festival Day 5, Part One: July 2nd, 2007

by Riel Lazarus
July 4, 2007

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5-1 | Day 5-2 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11

Day Five of the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal was a day for conclusions. It marked the end of the Canada Day long weekend, typically the fest's busiest time; and with a lighter load of events scheduled for Tuesday (Day Six), it also signaled ...

Montreal Jazz Festival: Day 4, Sunday, July 1, 2007

by Riel Lazarus
July 3, 2007

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5-1 | Day 5-2 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11

It was perhaps unrealistic, or overly ambitious, to expect that everything would fit together on Day Four. First up, there was Manu Chao, the Zapatista-rock guru and notorious rabble-rouser, scheduled to perform before an immense Canada Day crowd at Parc Jean-Drapeau. The show was ...

Montreal Jazz Festival: Day 3, Saturday, June 30th, 2007

by Riel Lazarus
July 2, 2007

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5-1 | Day 5-2 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11

With the third day of the festival upon us, a certain measure of relief was setting in. You could see it in the faces of organizers. (That, and early signs of exhaustion.) Gone were some of the concerns that come with such a large ...

Montreal Jazz Festival: Day 2, Friday, June 29th, 2007

by Riel Lazarus
July 1, 2007

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5-1 | Day 5-2 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11

Waking up this morning, it was hard to believe that Day 2 could match the brilliance of the festival opener. But glancing over the schedule, it certainly had a fighting chance. With the Wayne Shorter Quartet first up to the plate, momentum would no ...

Montreal Jazz Festival: Day 1, Thursday, June 28th, 2007

by Riel Lazarus
June 30, 2007

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5-1 | Day 5-2 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11

“Bienvenue au festival, Welcome to the festival. May I please check your bag? So began the experience at this, the 28th edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

Luckily, your faithful correspondent was not trying to hustle in beer bottles or any other ...

The Fred Hersch Trio: Night and the Music

by Riel Lazarus
May 19, 2007

Although there are no set formulas for success or achievement in jazz, there are certainly a few “legs-up and “add-ons. In the case of the trio, one such advantage is that of comfort and familiarity between the members. With these in play, the notes begin to blend and fall seamlessly in line: three voices turn to one. And while such synergy is relatively rare, look no further than The Fred Hersch Trio's Night and the Music for a prime example. ...

Marc Ribot, The Lost String

by Riel Lazarus
March 11, 2007

Marc Ribot: The Lost String (A Film by Anaïs Prosaïc) Marc Ribot La Huit 2006

It is with bated breath that a sizable portion of the music world anticipates guitarist Marc Ribot's creative endeavors. After all, few artists are as adventurous, imaginative and uncompromising, and even fewer could hope to find a home, as Ribot has, in such diverse realms as jazz, pop, rock, blues and klezmer. And so fans can now ...

Mose Allison: Mose Allison Sings

by Riel Lazarus
November 16, 2006

Working through Prestige Records' reissue of Mose Allison Sings, the challenge arises of describing the pianist/vocalist's unique sound. The salty-sweet taste of butter and jam on toast is at once an unspectacular metaphor and right on the mark. Allison's music is a delicious blend of tart and tang, as enjoyable in the morning as it is a late-night snack, simple yet significant, unassuming and infectious. His style is indelibly his own, residing somewhere between the Delta blues ...

Don Byron: Thinking and Rethinking

by Riel Lazarus
July 25, 2006

Few musicians can lay claim to tackling the wild mix of music Don Byron has. No matter how hard critics and audiences try to corner him, the clarinetist and composer succeeds in slipping their grips, in search of new ground to break. And yet as predictably unpredictable as Byron has been, his approach to music remains constant: one of diligence, determination and unquenchable curiosity. “My intent isn't to shake people, he says. “What I'm trying to do is be good ...

John Zorn: Filmworks XV and XVII

by Riel Lazarus
June 3, 2006

John Zorn Filmworks XV Tzadik 2005 John Zorn Filmworks XVII Tzadik 2006

Downtown music legend John Zorn is a hard man to pin down. No matter how much or little you know of him, it's never enough to not be surprised, delighted or simply dizzied by his music. What is constant ...