Évidence is a jazz trio based in Montréal and solely devoted to the repertoire of Thelonious Monk. Its biggest particularity is its lack of a pianist. Led by Jean Derome on alto saxophone, the group gives highly personal renditions of Monk tunes, illustrating why jazz innovators quickly hailed him as major figure.

Évidence started in 1985 but its roots extend as far back as 1973 when Derome and bassist Pierre Cartier included Monk pieces in the repertoire of their duo “Flûte et Basse.” The idea of a Monk-exclusive formation came from saxophonist Sylvain Leroux in 1982. The group included Cartier and Derome and was named “Mysterioso” (the title of one of the pianist’s tunes, of course). They played the Montréal Jazz Festival that year, before Leroux left to work in the United States. The two remaining members kept things alive and when drummer Pierre Tanguay settled in Montréal in 1985 he was immediately drafted and the unit rechristened Évidence. Other musicians have performed with the trio, including pianist Guillaume Dostaler, clarinetist Jean-Denis Levasseur and drummer Michel Ratté, but most of the time it performs and records as a trio.

For many years, the group remained a hobby for the three musicians, an excuse to get together and revel in Monk’s music. Since each of their rare live appearances seemed to draw a big crowd and sympathetic reviews, they decided to record a studio album. Musique de Thelonious Monk came out in 1993 on the avant-garde music label Ambiances Magnétiques (which Derome co-founded in the early 1980s). It remains to this day one of its most listener-friendly titles. In 1999, Évidence embarked on a series of concerts meant to cover the repertoire in its entirety, but plans failed when the art space Casa Obscura had to close down. A couple of evenings had already taken place and the CD Live à la Casa became the group’s second offering in 2000.

The group takes its name from a Thelonious Monk composition; eight others form the programme for this live recording, made in Montréal in 1999 Jean Derome on alto saxophone, Pierre Tanguay at the drums and Pierre Cartier on electric bass are adventurous musicians, yet their homage is played respectfully straight. There’s a slightly glutinous quality to Cartier’s plugged in bass which sometimes threatens to dampen the quirky spring in Monk’s music. It also contrasts oddly with Derome’s pinched tone.

Évidence is the Montréal trio of Jean Derome (alto sax), Pierre Tanguay (drums) and Pierre Cartier (electric bass). Regular readers of Splendid are sure to associate these names with many of the Ambiances magnétiques releases we’ve reviewed over the years. In most cases the music we’ve reviewed from guys like Derome or Tanguay has been of the highly experimental, free-form variety. With Live à la casa they move onto more well-known ground by performing the compositions of Thelonious Monk. Their effort is generally meritorious. Certainly the group plays tightly and with a certain liveliness, handling itself well enough on classics like Straight, No Chaser, Reflections and Ask Me Now. Derome’s alto sound is just a tad anemic and the rhythm section does seem a bit square, but these guys are well-rounded musicians and you can’t really fault them for not being specialists. I can’t really escape the feeling, however, that they aren’t real dyed-in-the-wool jazzmen, and Straight, No Chaser has been performed by every college and high school jazz combo in recorded history. I’m not saying that Évidence doesn’t have a right to play these unarguably great compositions or even that they don’t do it well. All I’m saying is that, barring brilliantly deep or novel performances, I’m not sure how many recorded interpretations of some of these tunes we really need.

This is not just a group’s tribute album to the great Thelonius Monk. Évidence has dedicated themselves since 1985 to performing and exploring his music. The trio reincarnates the great pianist’s music for alto sax, electric bass and drums. The disc opens with Straight, no chaser, one of the great standards Monk delivered to the jazz world. Throughout, the group does a commendable job at conjuring the spirit of this exclusive, post-bop genius> (4,5)

S’il existe un groupe qui a bien choisi son nom, c’est bien Évidence. L’Évidence en question c’est Jean Derome au saxophone alto, Pierre Cartier à la basse électrique et Pierre Tanguay à la batterie. L’Évidence en question existe depuis plus d’une décennie. Après tant de temps et donc bien de l’ouvrage abattu, l’Évidence s’affirme encore et toujours commé une nécessité qu’on osera justement qualifier d’évidente.

Une nécessité évidente… Quelles sont les musiques nécessaires? En vrac comme en désordre, il y a celles de Duke Ellington et Charles Mingus, John Zorn et Muddy Waters, Mississippi John Hurt, Dexter Gordon, Zoct Sims, Art Pepper, Lester Bo wie et Miles Davis, Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Lounge Lizards et Keith «Capitaine Fracasse» Richards, bien d’autres encore et surtout Thelonious Monk

À Monk, Evidence consacre toutes ses énergies, canalise tous ses talents. À Monk, beaucoup d’autres musiciens ont consacré des heures et des heures de travail pour mettre l’accent sur les aspérités de Four In One et autres javas monkiennes. Parfois ce fut le bonheur, parfois la déception.

Ce qu’il y a de bien, avec Évidence, c’est que ses actionnaires font Monk sans aucun souci de mimétisme. Derome est âpre là ou Rouse était coulant, Cartier font danser les notes dans des temps différents à ceux choisis par Larry Ridley et Frank Dunlop. Bref, Evidence ne fait pas du Monk. Ils le refont.

Ils le refont après l’avoir déconstruit. Ils le refont aprés l’avoir ausculté sous toutes les coutures. Ils sont délinquants là où les autres sont trop souvent trop sages. Enregistré live à la Casa, ce nouvel opus d’Évidence est une des grandes idées sonores de cet automne.

Ne reste plus qu’à se demander pourquoi ce groupe unique est si peu convoqué sur les scènes de Montréal et des environs. Cela relève du crime de lése-majesté.

Dix-huit ans après sa mort et vingt-huit ans après sa dernière prestation, l’inimitable et mythique pianiste Thelonious Monk demeure encore un objet de fascination. Artiste aux doigts imprévisibles et à la technique peu orthodoxe, au-delà de Round Midnight, Monk aura marqué les années soixante avec une déconstruction des structures, tout comme le fait depuis 1985 le groupe Évidence (Jean Derome au saxophone alto, Pierre Tanguay à la batterie et Pierre Cartier à la basse électrique). Si, pour Derome, jouer Monk est un hobby, cette captation à la Casa Obscura en juin 1999 nous présente le trio en explorateurs impénitents, conscients de la source d’enseignement à laquelle ils s’abreuvent. Bravo pour le choix plus obscur des pièces. ★★★★