The fifth and final day of Victo 2008 began with a mighty fine trio that hadn’t played together previously: Otomo Yoshihide on turntable & guitar, René Lussier on guitars and Martin Tétreault on turntables. It is true that Otomo and Martin have recorded previously as have René & Martin, but this was their first meeting as a trio. It seemed obvious to me that these musicians have played together before since they worked so well together here. Starting quietly with soft turntable sounds, somber guitar fragments and eerie electronic sounds, building into a restrained yet quietly exciting sound. The next piece began with René and Otomo playing a thick double feedback guitar storm, howling notes erupting together just right, eventually calming down to hushed drones, humming noises and static. A perfect combination of odd sounds. Both guitars erupted once more into an intense rave-up with Martin’s turntable noise as a great accompaniment. Both Martin and Otomo played soft, haunting sounds on the turntables together at times sounding like some radiators hissing. One of the best things about this set is the way René alters the sound of his guitar on each piece to evoke a wide variety of guitar-led sounds and episodes. Otomo is also most selective musician whether playing turntables & manipulating their sounds or playing the guitar that rests in his lap. Martin Tétreault also plays turntables differently than anyone else, rarely using records and often just manipulating the turntable itself. This was a most magical set…

“When we started the OFF Festival in 2000,” bassist Normand Guilbeault says, “we ran concurrently with the Montréal Jazz Festival. It was a statement that we local musicians are here, and this is what we do. But now, we don’t need to do that. The festival has found its place. Each year, many more musicians apply to play in the festival than can be accepted.” Indeed, the OFF has found its place. This year’s edition of the OFF is, incredibly, its 10th, its longevity a testament to the dedication of the musicians who organize the festival. They do it because they feel, rightly so, that it is vital to showcase both emerging and established local (and sometimes not-so-local) jazz musicians in contexts that are more amenable to an intimate music like jazz than a stage beside Ste-Catherine St. The focus is on the music, not on the amount of beer and hot dogs sold to tourists (not that they’re against selling beer and hot dogs to tourists, mind you). The OFF will run from June 18 to 27, presenting more than 30 performances, beginning with a piece for 50 musicians composed by Pierre Labbé in honour of the founders of the festival. It is a special event to be presented at Hangar 16 of the Quais du Vieux Port at 8:30 p.m. on June 18.

The next 10 days will see performances at the Cheval Blanc, Lion d’Or, Chapelle Historique du Bon- Pasteur and Dièse Onze by artists including Miriodor, the John Roney Trio, Marianne Trudel, Pierre St-Jak and Frank Lozano. The festival will close with a special two-set performance by Guilbeault’s large ensemble doing rarely performed works by Charles Mingus such as Black Saint and the Sinner Lady at the Lion d’Or on June 27.

This seems fitting, given the mercurial Mingus’s predilection for lecturing audiences who weren’t paying sufficient attention to the music. These musicians are making music that deserves attention, and they’ll do their best to make sure that you can experience it under the best possible conditions.

Immense compositeur de la seconde moitié du vingtième siècle, James Tenney fut l’un des derniers géants de la musique contemporaine. Disparu en 2006, son œuvre demeure incompréhensiblement sous-documentée sur le plan discographique. Le bien avisé Quatuor Bozzini entend bien changer la donne en nous livrant rien moins que l’intégrale des pièces pour quatuor à cordes et quintet, la plupart inédites en CD. Que l’on parle ici des compositions rassemblées ou du groupe chargé de leur interprétation, une chose est sûre: l’ensemble est prodigieux!

C’est un événement que la parution de ce double CD dans la Collection QB, dont les initiales (Quatuor Bozzini) nous rappellent que la formation montréalaise est aux commandes de la direction artistique. Possédant une affinité évidente pour l’œuvre de Tenney, Nadia Francavilla, Clemens Merkel (violons), Stéphanie Bozzini (alto) et Isabelle Bozzini (violoncelle) font preuve ici d’une précision et d’une limpidité qui requièrent, à l’évidence, la maîtrise absolue de leurs instruments mais, surtout, l’appropriation de la pensée intime du compositeur. Manifestation de cette alchimie: la pièce qui ouvre le recueil et lui donne son titre, Arbor Vitae (2006), commande du quatuor et œuvre ultime de Tenney qui n’a vu le jour que de manière posthume. Une apogée sereine où de longues et perçantes intonations forment une trame harmonique qui se déploie tel un rhizome laissant entrevoir, à chacun de ses embranchements, un microcosme sonore. A l’autre extrémité du spectre, le String Quartet in One Movement (1955) est d’avantage sous l’influence de Webern ou de Bartók et offre rétrospectivement un très beau portrait de l’artiste en jeune homme. Le sombre et bourdonnant Saxony se construit lentement par le flux et le reflux de vagues microtonales dont l’accumulation décalée forme une structure hypnotique. Un principe similaire est utilisé pour Koan for String Quartet qui réconcilie tout autant sérialisme et minimalisme en sillonnant les discrètes variations d’un mouvement perpétuel. Le second CD voit le quatuor augmenté par l’addition d’un percussionniste (Rick Sacks) sur Cognate Canons, d’une pianiste (Eve Egoyan) sur Diaphonic Studies ou d’une contrebassiste (Miriam Shalinsky) sur Quintext I-V: Five Textures. Les préoccupations restent les mêmes: exploration obsessionnelle des dissonances, réévaluation permanente des systèmes de composition et fascination infinie pour la prégnance du timbre. La dernière pièce, une suite de cinq études, fait écho à autant d’inspirateurs: Ruggles, Varèse, Partch, Xenakis et Feldman, reliant ces créateurs de génie par une ligne plus droite qu’il n’y parait et y en inscrivant son créateur par la même occasion. Plus bel hommage à James Tenney n’avait peut être jamais été rendu.

La Presse, Voir, Le Devoir, La Scena Musicale, Sorties Jazz Nights and Ici Montréal are unanimous: Normand Guilbeault Ensemble’s Live at Upstairs 2008 is a success. You can refer to our recent reviews section for details. Live at Upstairs 2008 might become a major album of the label Ambiances Magnétiques in 2009.

On June 12 and 13, 2009, assist at the live recording of saxophonist Damián Nisenson’s latest project Nozen, a disc which will be released later this year on Malasartes musique. The concerts start at 8:30 pm at Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill.

Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to witness Miriodor live Thursday June 19, 2009 at the Cheval blanc. Featuring Bernard Falaise, Pierre Labbé, Pascal Globensky, Marie-Chantal Leclair, Nicolas Masino and Rémi Leclerc.