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If Guelph is the ignition switch for jazz in Southern Ontario, the Off Festival de Jazz de Montréal (OFJM) is its counterpart for the Montreal region. Both events have long histories, the OFJM stretching back to Y2K, when local musicians banded together to call out the city’s mammoth jazz festival for its cavalier attitude toward them.
Off Festival On Again
Having outgrown that original purpose, the event has carved its own niche over time, now casting itself as a promoter of local talent, of which the city has no short supply. In its upcoming 24th edition, running from Oct. 5 to 14 (with a midway day off on the 10th ), the Off Jazz Fest has put together a roster of 27 shows, including six double bills, spread over seven venues, ranging from clubs like the Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill and Le Dièse onze, to concert halls at Place des Arts.
Though the local scene is the event’s bread and butter, the organizers also welcome performers from ROC, with a sprinkling of stateside guests, and a few from across the pond.
In spite of the great Toronto-Montreal divide, and the rarity with which artists from one city visit the other, the Off Festival does its part in bridging this gap. Such is the case this year, for example, at the festival’s first concert, which will feature Ernesto Cervini’s sextet Turboprop. Tenorman Jonathan Lindhorst, a HogTown native who left for Berlin a number of years ago, and has since relocated temporarily to Montreal to pursue his doctorate at McGill, will head a two-tenor pianoless quartet (11), presenting its take of one of his German groups he calls Fake Noise.
Claire Devlin
Speaking of tenors, this year’s lineup is chock full of them, with local stalwarts such as André Leroux in François Bourassa’s sterling quartet (5), ex-Montrealer and current New Yorker Chet Doxas in a trio with pianist Jacob Sachs and bassist Carmen Rothwell (7), Ukrainian ex-pat Bogdan Gumenyuk presenting jazz versions of his native land’s folklore(12) and this year’s busiest player, Claire Devlin, in no less than four shows, one of them being her own coop quartet Bellbird, which recently launched its debuts album. Norwegian tenorman and singer Bendik Hofseth will share the stage with the Orchestre national de jazz de Montréal (12), and Frenchman Jacques Schwarz-Bart appears on closing day. Pianist Stephanie Urquart, from Edmonton, will make her debut hjer Montreal debut (7), while Christine Jensen, recently appointed as associate professor at the Eastman School of Music, rounds out this year’s event with a return visit to her old haunt, performing the music of her latest Justin Time release.
Off Festival de Jazz de Montréal, Oct. 5-14 www.lofffestivaldejazz.com
On Stage
Sam Kiermayer and Laura Anglade
While festivals are a boon to any music scene, they do not offer steady-work opportunities throughout the year; clubs do. Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill, a venue that has endured nearly three decades, is one nightspot devoted solely to jazz, its clientele and a fair number of musicians stemming from the English community. Though it welcomes international names, especially during the summer festival season, the bulk of its shows are performed by a local contingent of players. This year, however, one special event graces the club’s September calendar, a five-day tribute to the Justin Time label, now celebrating its 40th anniversary (more on this label next month in a feature story). Aside from its established recording artists like Jensen, pianist Matt Herskowitz and the Doxas brothers with special guest Marc Copeland, performances will showcase a few newcomers, such as trumpeter Lex French, pianist Simon Denizart and the guitar-voice duo of Sam Kirmayer and Laura Anglade, all earmarked for upcoming recordings and releases. For information on dates and shows go to: www.upstairsjazz.com
The French community, for its part, has its own den, le Dièse onze on Saint Denis Street. It, too, welcomes occasional out-of-towners, as is the case this month (Sept. 15), with Toronto saxophonist and flutist Jane Bunnett and her current all-female latin group Maqueque. On Nov. 18, two bands from distant South Korea will split a one-night bill as part of a first-time North American tour. Check out its jazz record store next door while you’re at it. Programming and information on the restaurant facilities at www.dieseonze.com.
For the more adventurous minds, the Casa del Popolo and La Sala Rossa across the street slip in the odd jazz and improv music show, for instance the European Ahmed quartet (Sept. 12)–profiled in the feature on the Guelph Jazz Festival in the Toronto previews article (see link to that piece below). Ten days later, on Sept. 23, the part-time Berliner Lina Allemano and her trio of Toronto sidemen will drop in at the Casa in the wake of its Guelph appearance a week earlier. Closing out the month on its last day, First Nations bassist Mali Obomsawin will return with her sextet, for her third city appearance in a year.
Off The Record
Unlike in Toronto, where jazz recordings are largely self-produced, Montreal still has its own indies led by dedicated producers like Jim West of Justin Time Records. Alain Bédard is another, both as the headman of Les disques Effendi and as one of its recording artists, as a bassist and bandleader. The next few months will be quiet on the record front, yet Bédard’s octet JazzLab Orchestra will be on the road, with three Quebec dates booked in December, on the heels of a more extensive European tour.
Yves Leveille Studio Piccolo
Last spring, several Effendi artists will fimed in performance for online on demand brodcasts on the MATV network, channel 609. Two new episodes will be added in the weeks two come, one by the aforementioned JazzLab, the other by pianist Yves Léveillé accompanied by a string quartet. Finally, ror the label’s 25th anniversary next year, Bédard is lining up several recording projects with special guests as well as another edition of his showcase festival Jazz en Rafale, slated for later in the spring of 2024.
Yet another enduring local imprint is the Ambiances magnétiques label, a beacon of Quebec’s musique actuelle scene for four decades. In this, its banner year, it has issued an interesting album (Musique Émeraude) consisting of pieces from past recordings, reimagined by a cast of musicians working in their footsteps.
Finally, in distant Rimouski, bassist Éric Normand is a mover and shaker in his own right, documenting his own music and that of others on the Tour de Bras label. As this magazine comes out, he will have just performed at the Festi Jazz in his hometown in a quartet setting with Montreal pianist Marianne Trudel and New York saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock in tow, and will be working on a studio recording for future release.
For Toronto Fall previews, click here
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