This is Montréal-based guitarist, Antoine Berthiaume’s third disc for the AM label and each one has been great and completely different. His first was a duos disc with Fred Frith and Derek Bailey, which showed him to be a strong improviser to match wits with two older and legendary figures and guitar icons. His next was a trio with Quentin SirJacq on piano and Norman Teale on electronics and again it showed another side of intense improv. For his third AM CD, he employed a jazz guitar trio, which showed how well Antoine could play modern jazz guitar. Bebe Donkey is once more, another departure, as it features a fine duo with MaryClare Brzytwa on flute and electronics. The title track begins with the samples of scratchy records and some eerie, floating drones. In a blindfold test, one would be hard-pressed to figure out who is playing which instrument as most of the sounds are electronic sounding, static-like and filled with glitches and other odd sound effects. There is a great attention to detail here which reminds me of discs on the Erstwhile label, quieter, electronic based improv carefully created. The twelve song titles really make up just a few sentences of text and I get the feeling that this duo is creating a series of short stories that unfold one section at a time, yet somehow feel linked by an underlying thread or subtext. A marvelous collection of sonic manipulations.

These compositions were inspired by numerous voyages in the French Alps and the Pyrenees. Certain rhythmic and harmonic concepts were inspired by the study of Technique de mon langage musical by Olivier Messiaen. This is the young and creative drummer, Isaiah Ceccarelli’s first disc and it is an extraordinary one. It is not a completely improvised affair, as it sounds as if Isaiah spent a good deal of time writing and focusing the talents of his inspired quintet. Although we know of the great Jean Derome from the dozens of great discs he has on this same label, as well as great sets at Victo throughout the years, I am not familiar with the other three players here. Isaiah’s writing has a rich chamber-jazz sound on many of the pieces here. Some of these pieces sound like lower case improv, while others blend rich arrangements with colorful textures. Isaiah often uses the contrabass and drums to provide a thick, haunting bottom while both the reeds and guitar play his exquisite and often gripping harmonies. I am most impressed with the way that Isaiah gets the quintet to shift dynamics and blend sounds somewhere between charted and freer territories. This is a most impressive debut from a most promising young composer and drummer.

A bientôt 60 ans, ce guitariste autodidacte demeure un des trésors les mieux cachés de l’avant-garde musicale québécoises. Considéré en son pays comme un «libérateur de l’expression musicale», Duchesne opère ici un habile travail de médiation entre un quatuor à cordes et un trio basse-guitare-batterie. Un rôle que le compositeur canadien tient magistralement pour mettre au jour une gamme de complémentarités renouvelées entre couleurs classiques et dynamique rock. Un travail d’esthète, tout à la fois frondeur et radieux, concis et généreux, qui consacre une vision illustrative et quasi-impressionniste du savoureux concept de… rock de chambre.