This is a confluence of artists from jazz, contemporary and Indian classical backgrounds. The liner notes describe the similarities between the disciplines: a devotion to rigorous practice, a mastery of all the tonal possibilities of an instrument and a willingness to experiment.Anandan, on various drums, and Wiens, on prepared guitar, play percussive roles while Goldstein will most likely establish the lead voice then quickly shred it while trying to find common ground with the other two. However, everyone gets in on the melodic and rhythmic content — there is no better example than the percolating Twenty Fingers, which starts the album, where no one is the clear leader and all sounds seem to be part of some grand rhythm and harmonic matrix. Wiens also complements bowed violin passages with his guitar preparations to make for smoother sounds to impart glossier textures.

Après quelques apparitions remarquées dans diverses formations locales (Rouge Ciel, L’hôtel du bout de la terre), le Montréalais Guido Del Fabbro sort ce premier opus en solo. Un album cocasse et raffiné composé, selon les termes de l’auteur, de «19 pièces de musiques de chambre… d’hôtel»! Vous l’aurez compris, ce violoniste de formation possède plus d’une corde à son arc, dont celle de l’humour. Dans ce disque, l’énergumène module, bricole et emboîte sans distinction éléments populaires et savants. Sans véritable fil conducteur, mais avec une vraie malice créative, il se montre aussi bon sculpteur de fantaisies digitales que compositeur de berceuses ethniques. Multi-instrumentiste touche-à-tout, Del Fabbro utilise tout ce qui lui tombe sous la main, passant allégrement du darbouka à la cafetière ou encore du téléphone à la flûte à bec. Filant avec brio la métaphore infantile, voici un album qui séduira à coup sûr les amateurs de valses des étiquettes… musicales!

Bob is the trio of Éric Bernier, Michel F Côté and Guy Trifiro, who utilize computers and machines (what types of machines are not specified in the liner notes) to create a symphony of memory dust balls. You know what I’m talking about. Memory dust balls are those half (or less) remembered events of childhood, snatches of songs, fragments of old conversations that we all have floating around upstairs. Listening to the 11 pieces on this album is like delving into a vat of those memories, played on an old tube radio and set to a rocking beat. Very strange, but in a comfortable way.

Despite the title, this is not a song-by-song remake of the Talking Heads’ classic album of the same name, although I can only imagine what this trio’s takes on Burning Down The House or This Must Be The Place would sound like. Much like The Dirty Three, these musicians play percussion, violin, and guitar; unlike those Australians, these Canadians have little use for melody or song structure. The eight (mostly lengthy) compositions here blend Indian music-inspired open tunings with dissonant free jazz improvisations, but this sort of culture clash isn’t as outwardly engaging as you would hope. While the talent and skill that went into making the album is readily apparent, any pleasure derived from these difficult, subtle pieces requires a lot of close listening. It’s like staring at an impenetrably dense painting in a museum and admiring what you see but wondering, “What’s the point?” The trio come closest to answering that question on Fra Ma Ga Ra, where saxophonist Frank Lozano adds some lively, tense honking to a traffic jam of equally frenetic violin freakouts and shards of broken bottle percussive effects.

This compendium features twenty new artists pushing the boundaries of musique actuelle. The Ambiances Magnétiques label (a.k.a. DAME), has a strong roster in the genre stalwarts Robert Marcel Lepage, Jean Derome, Martin Tétreault and more, but this collection shows the future is bright with a spectrum of new, fresh talent. The assembly of talent runs the gamut from electroacoustic to astro-jazz and from third stream to rock in opposition. Fresh and exciting, it is post-all so very much and a highly promising cornucopia of fresh ideas. (4)

Avant-garde reeds man Pierre Labbé plays tenor saxophone and flute on this, his first album as a leader. Labbé has also worked with Papa Boa, Claude St-Jean, Pierre Dumont and more. This music draws from the third stream of free jazz blended with chamber music. He leads his ensemble through wild but precise romps featuring violin, viola, electric guitar, acoustic bass and traps. It is Bernard Falaise (Miriodor) that plays the guitar and some of the music recalls Miriodor. While some of this instrumental music never seems to fulfill its promise (Combat de Coqs), the album is itself a very promising debut. (4)