The public is invited to swing with the Trio Deveault, Guilbeault and Lavergne at the Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill (Montréal) on December 17, 2009 at 8:30pm.

On December 16, 2009, at 9pm, you will hear three excellent musicians at L’envers: Rob Clutton (double bass), Lori Freedman (clarinets) and Nicolas Caloia (double bass).

Montréal guitarist Antoine Berthiaume’s most accessible record to date — yes, even more so than Rodéoscopique! A splendid set of 11 short pieces, all in an alt-country setting, with drums, bass, pedal steel, and strings. Antoine plays guitar, banjo and dobro. Simple yet sophisticated tubes with gorgeous and immediate melodies, short moments of craziness, and well-matured instrumental songwriting. Biscuit volé“Biscuit volé” even has a feel of Philip Glass revisited by Ennio Morricone. Bravo! I had to draw a line for my 2009 year-end lists, and that’s done, so Small Tease is officially the first serious contender for my 2010 year-end lists!

A strong record, demanding but captivating. Montréal bass clarinetist Lori Freedman offers here a CD of contemporary music. And through this set of works composed for bass clarinet (by Michel Galante, Pascal Dusapin, Giacinto Scelsi, Franco Donatoni, Georges Aperghis, Monique Jean, and herself), she slips in three improvisations where she develops ideas (as fleeting as they may be) sourced within those works. It ties the album together while making the bounderies between composition/improvisation and composer/performer hazier. The Jean piece (the only mixed electroacoustic piece) is worth a special mention, along with the Scelsi (for the bright performance).

Ellwood Epps, Timothée Liotard, Rob Clutton, John Brennan, Fred Bazil, Paul Van Dyk, Jan Siemaszkiewicz, and Paul Serralheiro will be at Le Cagibi as part of the Mardi spaghetti weekly series for creative music on Tuesday December 15, 2009. Great evening in the offing!

Antoine Berthiaume will launch its new opus, the spellbinding Small Tease, with a happy-hour on December 14, 2009 at Casa del Popolo (Montréal).