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Jazzhus Montmartre: The Legend Continues
Jakob Baekgaard
Jakob is still amazed by the ability of jazz to constantly transform itself as an art form.Watts is mostly known for his ability to work up a hard-driving beat, but he is, in fact, also a sensitive ballad player and this strength came to the fore in a beautiful rendition of "Owed..." Here, Franck switched from tenor to soprano saxophone and made the notes soar like butterflies.
The concert ended with an extra where Niels Lan Doky was called in to replace Christoffersen in the piano chair. He then played some solid bop-phrases to the wild cheer of the audience who just couldn't get enough of the music.
While it is noticeable that Montmartre has changed, the room being brighter and somewhat more stylish, the spirit of the place remains essentially the same. The things that made Montmartre famous back in the days, the relaxed, artistic atmosphere and the high level of musicianship, are still there. Thus, there is ample reason to believe that Lan Doky and Bech can live up to the lofty ambitions of their manifesto. However, a legendary venue isn't preserved through words, but through the actual music being played and as the re-opening of the venue clearly underlined, the music is indeed still playing at Montmartre.
Acknowledgment: The quotations are taken from Frank Büchmann-Møller & Henrik Wolsgaard-Iversen's definitive book Montmartre (Jazzsign & Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2008). Montmartre Manifesto quoted from jazzhusmontmartre.dk.
Photo Credits:
Page 1: Jan Persson, Erik Petersen
Page 2: Hasse Ferrold, Gorm Valentin
