Day 10 - Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, July 7, 2006

John Kelman

Senior Editor since 2004

With the realization that there will always be more music coming at him than he can keep up with, John wonders why anyone would think that jazz is dead or dying.

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Published: July 9, 2006

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Harris is releasing a new large ensemble disc in October, and Blackout will head into the studio around the same time to record a followup to Evolution. So the next couple of years are going to be exciting for anyone who has been following the mallet player since he emerged in the mid-1990s. These two projects will no doubt place Harris' deep musical thinking front and center, but the Blackout disc wiil most likely also evince a greater passion and soulfulness that's less visible on impressive but more cerebral albums like Grand Unification Theory (Blue Note, 2003). Clearly Harris has found a balance between head and heart. One can only hope that not only will he be able to maintain this equilibrium, but Blackout will continue to be an ongoing concern for years to come.

Tomorrow: Pianist Enrico Pieranunzi and singer Ada Montellanico's Danza di Una Ninfa project featuring with Oregon woodwind multi-instrumentalist Paui McCandless, and clarinetist Don Byron's Ivey Divey project.

Visit Jean-Michel Pilc, Stefon Harris and Festival International de Jazz de Montreal on the web.

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John Kelman

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