The Montreal Jazz Festival is over, of course, but our ears want more. Here we discover this piece of the American drummer-percussionist. Nine minutes where changes in tempo and complex interconnections between sonorities – think of the work of the great Kamasi Washington – are heard, developed and enriched. The jazz heritage of Johnathan – son of cellist John Blake Jr. – is quite audible, he who favors the construction of a common air between the musicians who work with him within the Pentad group. Vibraphone, piano, alto sax, double bass and, of course, drums are on the menu of the structured piece that leaves improvisation aside. This composition announces the release of a second opus on the Blue Note label, in mid-August.
Look for the boy. Fans of dance evenings in French will remember the poisonous romantico-new-wave hit of Taxi Girl, the French group led by the late Daniel Darc. You’ll be looking for him for a long time, the boy, in Taxi Girls (with an “s” this time), a new Montreal trio straight out of the Rock’n’Roll High School of the Ramones, who recently released their first EP, Coming Up Roses. Lasting 1 minute 24 seconds, the unbridled Sunshine alone would earn them all the flowers in the world, so much the fire responds to a formula as irrefutable as it is jubilant: a heady gumball melody, smiling harmonies and a blitzkrieg rhythm. Like what minimalism remains the most effective of maximalisms. Hey ho, let’s go!
A week ago, Montreal rapper Killjei released Endworld, his first album under that name since dropping Jei Bandit’s. The 28-year-old artist, who has been recording since 2015, has experimented a lot over the years and this exploration of styles can be heard on Endworld. Like Kanye West, he recruited several collaborators to realize his creative vision, which he fully orchestrated. The base is trap, but the work is imbued with jazz, alternative, electro and R