She is capable of anything, Diana Krall: restoring luster to classics heard a thousand times, making contemporary jazz songs (her album The Girl in the Other Room remains a pearl in her discography), swinging her piano and even the Center Bell in full. His latest album, This Dream of You, is like many of the previous ones, that is to say quite soft. Those who’ve seen her in concert know that you shouldn’t expect to be patted on the ear: Princess Diana has a dog on stage. And that’s also a lot why we love him.
“That woman opened doors through which I am passing,” Bïa told La Presse, at the time of the death of Astrud Gilberto, the immortal “daughter of Ipanema”. She therefore spontaneously offered the Festival international de jazz de Montréal to put on a concert in memory of her deceased compatriot. “We prepared something that includes our favorite songs like Insensatez, Chega de Saudade, Corcovado and Aguas de Março, but also compositions that could have been sung by the mischievous Joao Gilberto [her husband from 1959 to 1963],” says Bïa, who will perform with the group Maracuja, in a message to La Presse.
If a prize for the most bizarre instrument were awarded at the end of the festival, it would undoubtedly go to Marc Mezergue, alias Mezerg. This French keyboard player will probably not come with his “pianoboom” (which allows him to make big “beats” with an acoustic piano), but he will surely have his theremin, precursor of electronic instruments, invented in 1928 by the Russian scientist Lev Sergeyevich Termen (Leon Theremin), after whom he is named, whose story is otherwise incredible. This strange device works with waves and a singing antenna, which you never touch. And it’s very effective in a context of super groove techno music, like the one proposed by Mezerg.
The Minneapolis non-conformist trio, which recently became a quartet without piano, but with sax, is nevertheless recognized for its covers of popular songs and its caustic performances in concert. He’s a regular at FIJM, and the band’s 23-year existence has given us thrilling avant-garde moments, reminiscent of the paradoxical qualities of the late Esbjörn Svensson trio. Not afraid to tackle Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring by adapting the work with electroacoustic elements, The Bad Plus is coming to us with a new disc of the same name in the suitcases launched last year. For muscular ears!
The influence on the English music scene of this young quartet – now a trio – from London, born only six short years ago, is major. We are here in the presence of three students from the music department of the BRIT School who live for experimentation and the amalgamation of genres. Post-punk and avant-jazz come together, while we detect a major love for spoken word, rap and funk. Geordie Greep (guitar, vocals), Cameron Picton (bass, vocals) and Morgan Simpson (drums… and what talent!) form the core of this juicy fruit, while musicians of wind instruments – trumpet and clarinet, especially – add to the flesh tasted by the listeners. This is a unique offer in this Festival.