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Julie Lamontagne: Opusjazz
by Robert J. Lewis
Julie LamontagneOpusjazzJustin Time Records2012From her earliest years, pianist Julie Lamontagne was immersed in classical music, but after attending a concert by the great Oliver Jones, she switched to jazz in her mid- to late teens. However, her musical mother tongue and first love remains classical, to which she ...
Francois Bourassa: Quid Pro Piano
by Robert J. Lewis
François Bourassa 2010 Festival International de Jazz de MontréalChapelle historique du Bon-PasteurMontreal, CanadaJune 30, 2010 When pianist/composer François Bourassa performed in the mid-1980s at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the sound he produced registered like a doubled-up fist of angry, aggressive music that, stylistically, recalled attack dog pugilist Roberto ...
Sylvain Provost: Desirs Demodes
by Robert J. Lewis
Sylvain Provost Désirs Démodés Effendi Records 2009 If you've been among the very best in your chosen field (of jazz piano) over a long career, there will inevitably come a time when what you say carries as much weight as what you play. So when pianist Oliver Jones, ...
Jean Vanasse: Vibraphonist Unsurpassed
by Robert J. Lewis
For most people it is impossible to be equally disposed toward all musical instruments and their generic sound; some immediately resonate, others never, even over an entire lifetime. A musician who manages to win over those previously indifferent or worse--through the power of sound, invention or understanding of the possibilities of the instrument--is to be ranked ...
Voo Doo Scat: Reminiscing
by Robert J. Lewis
It takes no small courage to record a CD of standards, all of which have been recorded hundreds of times by the very best the genre has to offer, including Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington. So if the entry level criterion is you better have something to say and say ...
John Roney: Il Penseroso of the Piano
by Robert J. Lewis
Far too often in jazz, a musician posing as a songwriter decides to immortalize a catchy sequence of notes or simple chord progression by inverting, converting, coloring, varying, flipping and reformulating it. But however dazzling is the musicianship, the acrobatics are not to be confused with composition. Saxophonist Branford Marsalis states unequivocally, “One of the problems ...
Jim Doxas: Beat and Beatitudes
by Robert J. Lewis
Very much in demand, Montreal drummer Jim Doxas divides his time playing with piano great Oliver Jones, the John Roney Trio and Chet Doxas Quartet. Through the power of his startling invention, he makes the case that percussion can be every bit as performative as a lyrical instrument. What distinguishes Doxas' approach to improvisation is that ...
Coral Egan: In the Key of C
by Robert J. Lewis
I could feel the vibes, the excitement in her voice. She was in the studio, in the throes of creation, and I felt the last thing on her mind was indulging an interview. And yet there I was, the self-designated musicus interruptus, whom this gracious young lady abided for almost an hour. We began speaking about ...
Annie Poulain: The Real Thing
by Robert J. Lewis
Annie Poulain from Quebec City, Canada sings in French; Astrud Gilberto ("The Girl from Ipanema") sings in Portuguese; Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in German. We English speakers don't know the languages, but we love to listen because, like the violin, the piano and the saxophone, the voice--before it speaks or sings--is an instrument that emotes. Since music is ...
Coco Zhao: Dream Situation
by Robert J. Lewis
I once mentioned to a friend that catching a singer who looks like he or she is a year or two away from imminent demise, in other words at his or her performing best, is often a matter of serendipity -- being at the right venue at the right time. By that standard, Coco Zhao, who ...
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