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THE 2006 MONTREAL INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL
Founded in 1970, the Festival International De Jazz De Montreal has grown into one of the largest and most
prestigious jazz festivals in the world. A countless number of music fans attend the numerous free outdoor concerts
and thousands pack a variety of attractive venues to see the ticketed indoor events.
Being an American visiting Montreal can be an odd experience at times. Montreal is very much a French-speaking
city, unlike Toronto which I visited six weeks earlier. Most of its natives know English but many prefer not to speak it,
even when conducting business, so ordering food can sometimes be a bewildering experience. At one point I went to
an Orange Julius stand and said, “I’d like a large Orange Julius.” The employee acted like she had no idea what I
was asking for so I pointed to a large cup, saying, “Large, large.” She responded with “Large what?” I pointed at the
sign of the place, “Orange Julius.” It’s not like there were more than three things on the menu! At the indoor
concerts, the warnings about turning off cell phones and not smoking were spoken in both French and English, but
the musicians were introduced only in French, even when they were Americans.
The strangest aspect to my Montreal visit was that the weather seemed to be different every block. In one spot it was
hot and muggy, a block away it was cold and windy, a three-minute walk brought one to a rainstorm but then a block
over it was perfect spring weather without a cloud in the sky. The best advice when leaving the hotel room was to
wear a short-sleeved shirt and bring a heavy coat!
Once one becomes used to the culture shock, it is easier to enjoy Montreal, a beautiful city that puts on a huge
festival. Strangely enough, very little music takes place before 5 p.m. even though tens of thousands of people mill
around the main outside area for hours before. All that they get to hear that early is one of several occasional
mediocre dixieland bands (operating under the rather anonymous names of Le Dixieband, Sweet Dixie and L’Espirit
De La Nouvelle-Orleans), endless sound checks for some of the later groups, and some barely audible strolling world
music bands. It is surprising that the afternoon is not utilized to showcase top local groups.
This year’s festival was 12 days long (from June 28 through July 9). One wishes that American jazz festivals could
compare length-wise. In comparison, the Monterey Jazz Festival is just three days. Montreal has never been 100%
jazz, always keeping its roster open to blues, r&b, pop and various uncategorizable groups from Canada, Europe and
the U.S., but there is quite a bit of worthwhile jazz to be experienced, particularly in the inside concerts. I was at
Montreal for most of its first half and enjoyed 11 sets of music that ranged from excellent to truly memorable, just a
small sampling of the music that took place.
John Zorn’s Masada, comprised of the altoist-leader, trumpeter Dave Douglas, bassist Greg Cohen and drummer
Joey Baron, utilizes ancient Jewish melodies and Eastern European folk songs as the basis for its often-wild
improvisations. Zorn’s playing is sometimes so violent as to be purposely humorous, but he knows when to curtail the
squeaks and squawks, always serving the music. His passionate playing made Douglas sound like a straight man in
comparison but the trumpeter got in his inventive ideas along with some witty song quotes (including “I’ll Get By”
during a particularly heated exchange). Cohen and an assertive Baron drove the two lead voices, making this an
exciting and consistently intriguing performance, one that gained so much applause from the enthusiastic audience
that the band played two encores and had two additional curtain calls.
Following Zorn, John Pizzarelli’s tribute to Frank Sinatra could not help sounding conservative. However Pizzarelli,
who mostly sang and only played guitar in small stretches, is so charming and witty that he had no difficulty winning
everyone over. Backed by an excellent band comprised of Montreal players that mostly played arrangements by Don
Sebesky, Pizz was in fine form on such standards as “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” “Come Rain Or Come
Shine” and “Pick Yourself Up.”
Tenor-saxophonist Yannick Rieu (doubling on soprano) utilized a two-bass quintet that co-starred pianist Francois
Bourassa. Part of the time he and his group improvised off of a peaceful pre-recorded soundscape and in other
spots he played a la Sonny Rollins on “Like Someone In Love” and part of Rollins’ “Freedom Suite.”
The musical highpoint of the week for me was a trio performance by guitarist Bireli Lagrene, organist Joey
DeFrancesco and drummer Andre Ceccarelli. Lagrene, who was honored during this festival and featured in five
different groups, originally came to fame over 25 years ago as a 13-year old who sounded just like Django
Reinhardt. He has since evolved through many phases and in this soul jazz/hard bop setting he sounded closer to
Wes Montgomery and early George Benson, except often playing at triple their speed. Lagrene and DeFrancesco
(the king of his instrument) consistently impressed, challenged and cracked up each other, and the guitarist’s
unaccompanied feature was miraculous. The material was basic including a pair of lengthy medium-tempo blues,
“Summertime,” “What Is This Thing Called Love,” “Sunny,” “I Wish You Love” and a rapid “All The Things You Are,”
but the playing was quite inventive and full of spirit and joy.
Pianist Julie LaMontagne, unknown in the United States but popular in Montreal, has a style reminiscent of Keith
Jarrett and early Herbie Hancock. Her writing for her trio, which utilizes tricky time signatures and unexpected
rhythms, is particularly original.
E.S.T., a very popular European trio comprised of pianist Esbjorn Svensson, bassist Dan Berglund and drummer
Magnus Ostrom, plays music that is very difficult to categorize. Although influenced by jazz, pop, folk, fusion and
classical musics while often emphasizing the groove, their performances are quite unpredictable. One-chord vamps
hint at Keith Jarrett but only slightly and, whether they are playing a mournful piece, utilizing a synthesizer that makes
Berglund’s bass sound like a rock guitar, or romping acoustically, E.S.T. has its own approach to improvised music.
The great pianist McCoy Tyner led a septet for what was billed as “The Story Of Impulse Records.” Actually nothing
much was said about Impulse and the group, which included trumpeter Wallace Roney, trombonist Steve Turre, tenor-
saxophonist Eric Alexander, altoist Donald Harrison, the brilliant bassist Charnett Moffett and drummer Eric Gravatt,
used the occasion as an excuse to jam such pieces as “Stolen Moments,” “Will You Still Be Mine” (a feature for the
trio), “The Promised Land” and some originals. Harrison and Tyner frequently took solo honors.
I was only able to attend the first half of a concert that teamed Bireli Lagrene with the Alain Caron Big Band. Lagrene
was absent from the first part, which mostly featured swinging arrangements by Michael Abene, who was present to
conduct the band. Instead of staying for the second half, I opted to see how Kenny Garrett sounded in Canada. The
altoist was as intense and blazing as ever, hard-driving from the start on a furious uptempo tune. His young but sadly
unidentified quartet kept up with him as he displayed plenty of fire, making one wish that he had had the opportunity
to record with the late and equally intense Jackie McLean. A pair of soprano-piano duets on moody ballads offered a
bit of contrast during a stirring set that solidified Kenny Garrett’s reputation as one of the most vital of all current jazz
musicians.
Altoist Christine Jensen is at this point best known as the sister of the great trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, but she is rapidly
developing into a major force herself, both as a player and as a writer. Joined by guitarist Ken Bibece, pianist Dave
Restivo, bassist Fraser Hollins and drummer Greg Ritchie, Jensen (who doubled on soprano) played originals (“For
Tom Harrell,” “Cedar,” “Kapers Capers,” “Promenade,” “Keeping Up Appearances” and “Upper Fargo”) that ranged
from a cooking augmented blues to pieces built around complex time signatures.
The final set that I saw in Montreal was a particularly intriguing performance by drummer Aldo Romano (who, like
Lagrene, was the star of five concerts), bassist Henri Texier and Louis Sclavis on clarinet, bass clarinet and soprano.
This was the type of music I most wanted to hear while in Canada, highly original performances from musicians who
never seem to pass through Los Angeles. Whether it was rambunctious free bop, folkish melodies, episodic
improvisations, a mysterious Near Eastern ballad or a drunken comical march, the trio was consistently inventive and
colorful. It was a particular treat getting to hear Louis Sclavis, an underrated player on each of his instruments.
Other performers at this year’s festival who I did not get to see, either because they were on the same time as the
concerts I attended or because they were featured during the festival’s second half, included B.B. King, Badi Assad,
Brad Mehldau, Chris Botti, Chris Potter, Dave Brubeck, Dave Liebman, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Don Byron, Enrico
Pieranunzi, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Jamie Cullum, Joe Lovano, Matthew Shipp, Pat Martino, Patricia Barbara, Pharoah
Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Sara Gazarek, Stefan Harris, Susie Arioli, Wayne Shorter and Yusef Lateef.
Obviously the Montreal Jazz Festival, even with its wild eclecticism and crazy weather, is well worth attending. For
more information about next year’s marathon, take a look at www.montrealjazzfest.com.