Montrealities

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When looking back at his life in the music business, Jim West can rightfully claim to have had one great ride. When he created his imprint, Justin Time Records, in 1983, he had already worked in the retail trade for a decade, and had started his parent company, Distributions Fusion III, a year prior.

Justin Time Records — Still Riding High at 40

By now, the story of Jim West’s first catch, pianist Oliver Jones, has been told countless times. Jones’s signing to the label marked the beginning of an enduring business relationship that ended with the artist’s retirement a little under a decade ago, the ensuing friendship unabated to this day — West talks to him on a regular basis, and had just met him for lunch in the week that of this conversation last August. With several hundred releases gracing the catalogue, it is almost pointless to ask West about personal favourites, but there are still a few turning points, or benchmarks, that served as a good talking points during a recent conversation with the ever affable record producer.

“Producing Diana Krall’s first album was one of them,” says West. “David Murray was another, because he introduced me to a contingent of high-profiled Black artists, nor should we forget the World Saxophone Quartet albums that drew international attention. I have to thank pianist D.D. Jackson for that, who I was recording at that time when he was part of David’s quartet. But significant events are not just limited to artists; these are found in the business side of things—take the new technologies that have emerged, the move from analog to digital or the streaming services, you can’t overlook these.”

Speaking of technologies—more specifically, the rather puzzling resurgence of the vinyl album—West admits not being too surprised; having been weaned on them, he can appreciate LP sound quality. “I have issued some vinyls in recent times—mainly traditional and heritage artists, bluesmen like John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters albums, or a live Dizzy Gillespie concert. These sell well. But I would not do that for young groups or little-known artists; that would be a kiss of death.”

In September, a five-evening event was held at Upstairs Jazz Bar, featuring current recording artists like Christine Jensen and the Doxas brothers, and two names added to the fold: pianist Simon Denizart and trumpeter Lex French. West has come full circle, by investing anew in local talents.

“You can say that, but some of the major names are no more,” West notes. “Paul Bley for one, Hamiet Bluiett another. Financially, no one can afford the lavish productions of the 1990s, and records don’t sell like they used to. Distributors are few and far between: I closed my company and rely on one in Vancouver who has deals worldwide.”

When asked about the future, West indicated he’s not ready to hang it up yet. “I still enjoy my job,” he claims, “but don’t want to be on call 24-7 anymore. Looking ahead to next year, I want to reduce my activities, and just do other things as I please—at my own pace.”

A 40 year-sampler is now available as an exclusive online download.

Go to: www.justintime.com

Guy Thouin — Infinity to Power of Eight

In any town with a decent-sized music scene, there is always at least one square peg who fits in none of the round holes. In Montreal’s jazz and improv milieu, drummer Guy Thouin is one such character. A charter member of the city’s first free jazz combo, Le Quatuor de jazz libre du Québec, he was initially an outsider in 1967, and quit to go to India, dissatisfied by its radical politics. Ever the free spirit, the drummer dropped out for long periods with sudden bursts of activity, one in the late-1980s. As leader of the heArt Ensemble, another more recent endeavour, he recorded music in his basement, with one or two guests at a time and posted excerpts of the sessions online.

Photo : M. Morrissette

Packing up gear and heading to gigs until very late at night, with hardly anything to pocket, is barely worth the effort. And at 83, who can blame him for staying home? Been there, done that, as they say. “I am in an ideal situation now,” Thouin says emphatically. “I don’t have to do all sorts of things to make ends meet, but I get it: young musicians have to do that just to pay the rent.” His awareness of the situation is quite sharp, given the fact that for a year now he has been taking the stage again, with a newly created outfit, the Ensemble infini. At 10-strong, it made its debut last May at the new music festival in Victoriaville (FIMAV), a performance hailed as a highlight, according to many a festival-goer.

“Let me be clear,” as Thouin explains during a recent phone conversation, “this is not a free jazz band, nor are our noses buried in charts all the time. I´m no composer, but still write out little melodies that serve as jump-offs for the band, but one the saxophonists, Élyze Venne-Deshaies, acts as the group’s musical director, she’s in charge of writing out the arrangements. Just going for it and playing totally free is not my bag, and don’t get me started about all that sound-doodling and minimalistic crap!”

In September 2022, Thouin was actually persuaded by one of his basement collaborators, bassist and guitarist Raphaël Foisy-Couture, to perform an impromptu outdoor show during a city film fest. Expecting it to be a one-shot deal, it grew wings so to speak and suddenly took shape for its FIMAV gig. Buoyed by the show’s success, the group kept going, first by spending a five-day residence last July at one of the city’s cultural centres to hone its existing material and try out some new music. For the new season, it has pared down its size to eight for one show at a church on Oct. 22, with a record date in the offing for the Winter and more live performances for next year.

While many veterans under such circumstances would have the impression of getting a new lease on life, Thouin nevertheless has his qualms, for reasons he finds hard to explain. “I don’t want to belittle it,” he says, “but am not all gung-ho about it. Getting so many people together, rehearsing and remembering all the cues, that’s tough. I’ve been so used to doing my thing at home, that it’s hard for me to deal with all of this, and at my age…”